Deidara Grounded
by seraserastuff
Summary: Deidara is taken captive by Team Kakashi and Team Gai. They look after his wounds and -try- to escort him to Konoha for questioning. The Sand Village and Akatsuki complicate matters. Lot's of angst and hurt/comfort, YAOI eventual
1. Capture

My first ever fanfiction in 8 years! (I know...) would really love some constructive criticism, so if you have any go ahead!

Anyway, there are not enough fics about Deidara being all vulnerable and taken captive. So I wrote this! I just really, really like that kind of thing.................*is a pervert* Oh wells.

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Deidara balanced on the branch and leaned against the base of the tree, heart pounding in his ears. He grit his teeth around the kunai in his mouth as he thought the best way to kill those bastards, as soon as he had his arms back!

They would run for their lives, he'd show them his art and scatter them one thousand different ways, the light from the blast would bleach the sky and turn night into day, would..._ah_...

_No..._

Deidara suddenly began to feel very light-headed. The right-side of his torso was sticky and warm with blood that was beginning to cake. More blood continued to stream steadily from where his arm had...what exactly had happened to it?

That strange, terrible jutsu. Pierced his arm away.

The sharingan user hadn't even touched him; and he could do _THAT!_

It continued to bleed, and it was all he could do was stand dumbly and watch the blood drip from his tattered sleeve.

Shit, shit, he couldn't even bandage this shit. There had been no opportunity with Kakuzu to reattach his other arm, Sasori had used some simple first-aid and jutsu's for him on the stump after they left the Sand country. He hadn't planned on losing the other one too.

He was getting chills...was he going to faint?

Oh that would be just fucking perfect wouldn't it? the icing on the cake!

What would the others say if he was captured by the enemy because he fucking fainted! He could hear Hidan's mocking voice already, _"Awww, Dei-chan, caught in a swoon were you?", _and Itachi...that arrogant bastard, he couldn't look weak in front of him, not again, not when he's stronger than him now, not weaker! He could beat Itachi anytime he wanted now, yeah, he just didn't want to yet, he wanted it to be the perfect masterpiece...

What he wouldn't give for one one of his creations to just fly out of here.

_"THERE!"_ he heard that damn byakugan boy shouting. Well, shit. he had no time to be thinking about this crap. They were nearly on him!

"Don't let him get away!"

He launched forward, jumping away to another branch... he thought he would reach it for a moment, but then his strength to completely left him...

Everything went black.

---

"Is he dead?"

"No, look he's breathing."

"...he passed out.."

"..quick, hold him.."

"Guys, he's pretending I'm sure! Let's stay back.."

"What? The guys got no arms! What's he gonna do to us anyway..."

Deidara stirred, he must have only been passed out for only a few moments. He tasted blood in his mouth, and more blood came from his nose where he had slammed into the ground. Face in the grass, his hair around him like a curtain, he couldn't see a thing. There were sharp pains shooting through his chest and his body was covered in a layer cold sweat, was it fear? They had already managed to kill Master Sasori, so he knew they weren't weak. That one with the mangekyo sharingan was a force to reckon with, and they were enraged with him for killing that jinchuriki; what was with that anyway? Most of the people he'd encountered thought they were being done a favour when they took the cursed ones away! No other jinchuriki had had people try to save them before.

He heard several pairs of feet stepping cautiously (ha, they were still afraid of him - even in this condition!) through the grass and leaves towards him. Deidara realised he wouldn't be able to run away this time. He had lost too much blood was so exhausted; he could barely even turn his head to the side and open his eyes let alone attack the bastards. There was clay in his pouch but he couldn't use it, even pick up without hands. He tried to think of a plan to get away, anything, anything...

"He's awake!"

A foot slammed down harshly on the back of his neck. Oh god ouch.

"Hey, hey un, that hurts" he murmured quietly around the kunai, still somehow in his mouth, he had meant it as a shout, but it was barely audible, the offending foot ground down on his neck even harder and he began choking hoarsely; he'd been winded too when he fell damn it.

"Steady there Gai, he's not going anywhere".

He felt weight on his legs as they were pinned behind him.

"Don't let him escape, Lee, Neji."

"Yes sensei!"

"Right."

"You won't be flying away from this one."

That masked one, the one with the mangkeyo sharingan! knelt in front of him and lifted his dishevelled hair (now full of twigs and dirt) from his face to look him in the eye. Deidara squinted in the light at first, but then met the masked ones eyes evenly. At least the bastard was covering his sharingan now, he didn't want to have to look at that shit on top of everything.

"You've been brought back down to our level now. That was some chase you lead us on, but you've been grounded," said the sharingan bastard matter-of-factly._ 'Grounded'? was that supposed to be funny? that was crap... _"You are under arrest, we're taking you back to Konoha prison for questioning. It would really be easier on both you and us if you didn't resist, so i'm warning you now to co-operate..."

He reached out and took a firm hold on the kunai in Deidara's mouth. _Unnn_, his teeth ached and bled he really wanted to shout at these guys.

"Just yank it from him, Kakashi." another voice said. But Kakashi slowly pulled on the kunai, waiting for him to let go. _What good is it now anyway? _he thought. _He'll just get these guys later on...yeah. _He released the kunai and licked the blood around his lips, glaring at Kakashi.

"Good boy,"

_Good boy? Patronising fucker!_ He was nationally wanted and feared terrorist, a murderer! He was not a kid...were they going to treat him like one too? Kakashi stood up. Deidara hissed, this wasn't happening, none of this was really happening to him, no way...

"Now keep being good for the journey back, Konoha treat their prisoners humanely, unless you give us reason to treat you otherwise..."

_....Blahblah_, he didn't want to hear it "Un..un," he found his voice. "To hell will this...all of you...useless...unappreciative un...ah..." he was going again. His head felt so heavy, he closed his eyes and breathed into the ground, trying to gather together his thoughts and strength.

"Sakura, look at this guy's wounds, and see to his arm - stop it bleeding, it's extremely important that he can be questioned later".

"Yes, Kakashi-sensei," said a girls voice. It was that girl-brat who had helped kill Master Sasori. Oh how he would laugh at Sasori later for that...no wait.

He felt the pressure raise from his neck as he was turned over and pulled into a sitting position, legs still held by those other two brats. These guys were taking no chances with him, they were still clearly wary of him even in this weakened state. He noticed with some satisfaction that they were still breathing as heavily as he was, the chase he had lead them on had totalled nearly two hours.

The one behind him, that other jonin with the ridiculous outfit, roughly pulled his Akatsuki coat down off his shoulders to his waist. Deidara did not make a sound as it rubbed down painfully over his aching arms, but he grimaced. They took his ammunition belt which he used to store clay, and also a concealed knife that he kept strapped to his leg for emergencies;_ hmph,__ not that he had ever had __need __to use it. _As if he could have used these things with no hands, but they were still taking them anyway! That girl began to unpack bandages and syringes from a small bag, while the jonin kept a firm grip on his shoulders. It was to stop him from escaping, but if he weren't being held, Deidara felt he would have collapsed straight back on the ground. He was so tired now.

Deidara felt another sudden stab at his pride - he wondered if he could have broken from their grip even if he were not wounded; taijutsu was really not his thing and he had never been that strong physically. But from a distance, he was a master_ - yeah! Just you wait... when he was a distance, he was unstoppable!_ Not up close...like this...he hated the way all these people were pressed so close around, he didn't belong down here with them, he belonged high above, looking down on scenes such as these, pitying them. Not on _their_ level, one with them! And what the hell, all of them were staring at him too, now that they had him sat up, they were really staring at him, eyeing him up and down. He knew he was pretty amazing but...what the hell was their problem?

_"Not so tough now, eh, Akatsuki?"_

Deidara realised that it was curiousity; this was their first good look at him. They were curious about who was was, about what he looked like up close. Akatsuki rarely, well, never got captured (They would mock him forever, Hidan especially would never, ever let this one go) and particulary with Deidara, it was rare people got to see him at all. Hell, it normally required binoculars just to get a glimpse at Deidara! When he was on the ground, he preferred to wear his Akatsuki hat most of the time, coat closed all the way up the collar; even his hair covered most of his face. _Hmph, well enjoy the view while you can, bastards._

The pink-haired girl set to work tying something tightly around his stump of an arm. He closed his eyes and gritted his bloody teeth from humiliation. So they were doing fucking favours for him!

"We should take this..." the other girl's voice. He started suddenly, looking up as that bun-headed girl moved his hair aside and took the device from his left eye.

"That's mine, un.." he began. What was this...she was already wandering off with it! But then he was distracted by yet another voice, _that_ voice.

_"Bet you wish you never went for our friend Garaa now, do you eh? _You'll pay for this, bastard!"hissed the blond jinchūriki, thrusting himself into Deidara's line of sight suddenly.

"Naruto..." began Kakashi, warning in his voice.

"Naruto, get out of my way, I'm trying to concentrate on this wound." said Sakura, annoyed.

Deidara found himself smiling a bit at the jinchūriki, Naruto, so brash, so confident that he was safe from Akatsuki! His refusal to except that he was doomed was quite amusing to Deidara. He would follow the fate of the other ones they had extracted, one way or another.

"You are next... perhaps not right now, but you are next," Deidara murmured, not bothering to look up.

"Oh really, but it looks like you're in no position to say that are you? huh?" Naruto yanked his head back. Deidara just smiled at him. Whatever.

"Naruto! I'm trying to concentrate!" Sakura was getting pissed, which was funny. Did she get angry at the jinchūriki a lot? This was reminding him a little of Akatsuki, Hidan got everyone annoyed. Although Deidara knew he pissed off Sasori a lot too...shit no, was he like the Naruto in their team?

"Naruto, come away from him now and let Sakura work, come and help with Garaa". Naruto released Deidara's hair and returned to where the old woman had been quitely kneeling all this time over the other jinchūriki, the dead one. Why they were bothering with their dead friends corpse so much, he did not know, the guy was dead! He was nothing!

"TenTen, careful with that, we need it for evidence"

"Yes Gai-sensei- I'm just trying it out..." He heard a call from some way back. Was that girl actually putting on his device now? Deidara cringed at the thought.

"Hey! I can see tiny details on things really far away!" _Oh for fucks sake. _"This would help with my ranged attacks!" After a brief pause, Deidara could hear shuriken being thrown. _Amateur!_ He had made that gadget for grander purposes than that!

"Don't meddle with that, un." he hissed weakly. They all ignored him, or perhaps they didn't even hear his weak protestations; Sakura, stone-faced, continued wrapping his wound. He realised it had stopped bleeding now.

"Really impressive work, Sakura-san!" piped up the eyebrows-boy enthusiastically, little suck-up. It wasn't like great art or something! Although Deidara had to admit, it was wrapped better than his other arm.

"Thanks Lee," smiled Sakura. Deidara wondered if she could tell that Eyebrows liked her. Probably. Eyebrows was too damn ugly for her though, but then he was really too ugly for anyone; it was a bit sad really.

He heard bun-girls voice again, still out of sight, "It's well made too," she continued happily, appreciatively even. "I wonder how it was constructed..."

Deidara decided that perhaps this girl, 'TenTen', (what kind of name was that?) at least, actually had some sense in her, to recognise something good when she saw it. Of course it was an excellent device, he had made it himself! Master Sasori wasn't the only one who could craft complex things. This scope was only one of many (Deidara preferred to dispose of the old and create new ones from scratch, rather than to continuously fix and upgrade them-something Sasori had always criticised him for.) He could make another one, not being particulary attached to his things - unlike sentimentalist master Sasori of course - it just really pissed him off they were taking his stuff!

The Sakura girl was pulling up the hem of his shirt, checking for other wounds...or just being fucking nosy. He tensed with anger, no one ever got to look at his body and it's secrets apart from him, and if they were going to, then he chose who and when!

"Don't you _dare_ girl," he threatened, with as much menace as he could "_Or I'll..."_

"Just go ahead Sakura, we've got him."

Sakura pulled up his shirt completely, as he growled and shrank back into the one holding him, unable to go anywhere. Sakura made a surprised sound and the others leaned in to see.

_Oh no._

She had seen it. She was looking at the stitched mouth over his heart.

"What's this on your chest, another mouth?" Sakura had guessed...these guys knew of the mouths he had had in his hands and had put two and two together.

Colour rose in his face. No one ever saw, well, almost no one had ever seen... _that_ one. It was private, one of his great secrets, one of his greatest (yet untried) weapons and she was just asking about it like that? Like she had a right?

"Untie it and see, un", he leered softly. _Yeah, go on and look...he would chew her fucking hand off!_ She recoiled her hand at his response, unsettled by his tone of voice.

"It is another mouth," confirmed the byakugan boy bluntly. Deidara seethed, the more they knew about him, the less afraid they would be of him! Couldn't he keep anything concealed? These ignorant kids were examining him as easily as an insect in a glass. Well he would not answer any of their questions, that was for sure!

Sakura said nothing to Deidara, wouldn't even meet his eyes. She did not touch the mouth on his chest. He could tell she was intimidated by him. Good. The way she touched him was hesitant, like he was still something dangerous, still a member of Akatsuki that could pull a scary fucking stunt and attack her at any moment, a bomb waiting to go off. He smiled, liking that analogy.

"He has three broken ribs also," the byakugan boy spoke again, nodding at Deidara's chest. That did explain why his chest hurt so much, somewhat useful thing that byakugan...he supposed.

"Point them out?"

"Yes."

Neji then traced over Deidara's chest to guide Sakura to the places where his broken ribs were, he could show her the exact spots and even tell her what angles they had been bent at, how much tissue they had torn - none of his vital had been harmed, Neji surmised. Deidara would have marveled at the skill if only he weren't so distracted by the fact that he _hated to be touched!_ Neji's hands were careful and brief, when he glanced up at Deidara for a moment he said nothing. Deidara took a moment to stare at those strange, pupiless eyes. He had never met anyone with the byakugan before. He had heard it was nothing compared to the sharingan, but still a powerful tool nontheless. It was because of this guy he had been found so easily in the forest, the lucky shit. If Deidara had eyes like those, he wouldn't waste them on being a tracker dog...the possibilities they would have added to his art were endless...

Sakura bandaged Deidara's chest in silence. Everyone was being so quiet now, probably still upset over that jinchuriki? Pathetic. Although...the silence did unsettle him somewhat. Deidara was not used to sticking around to see the aftermath of his art for long, or if he did it was from a great distance away. Everything became so much smaller when you flew away from it. You couldn't really hear the cries or see the pain, it was far better to admire the whole from afar, sort of like how a painting looks better from the other side of the room, if you get too close you tend to focus too much on the individual things, individual people...

And it was getting really late, would Akatsuki be looking for him soon? Did they know yet? Would they care? The Leader had not yet communicated with him. The Leader...he would be furious! One of the first rules of Akatsuki was not to become captured, at any cost...perhaps they had abandoned him? They wouldn't even locate him if they just wanted his ring, that had been lost somewhere in the forest along with his arm!

Deidara just wanted to sleep and escape this for a short while. He would normally have been sleeping by now, especially after that long process of drawing out the tailed beast, that exhausting chase, the dizzying amount of blood he had lost. It was strange to think he wouldn't be seeing Sasori again. By now he should have been sleeping under a tree or in a cave or a travellers Inn somewhere; well weather permitting, hat resting over his face to keep off any bugs. Master Sasori did not need to sleep or rest, but would stay nearby him whilst he slept, whittling away at one of his needlessly elaborate puppets quietly. Having Master Sasori around meant that he could sleep completely at ease, he was going to miss that...where would he be sleeping tonight? Wherever and whenever these guys decided that he would, probably tied up painfully and being stared at as they took turns watching him.

When would he be able to get his arms back? Kakuzu had promised to help him reattach another one...when would he be able to use his art again? He was really in the mood to blow something up _NOW_ dammit, he needed to unwind and watch the sparks.

Would he even recover the use of his arms at all - would he _ever_ be able to use his art again?

Why was he thinking about all these things? His situation was beginning to feel less and less like a minor set-back as it sank in he would not be escaping today, or anytime soon.

Sakura started to check over the rest of his torso, pulling his long hair over one shoulder and out of the way, while the jonin gripping his shoulders turned him about so she could see him easier. Deidara felt more and more sick with all this manhandling, he wasn't accustomed to being touched so much, not by anyone! That was another reason he preferred long-ranged attacks, keeping his distance... Right now felt like one of Sasori's puppets, being moved this way and that at the whim of the controller - he had no say.

_"Like what you see__, _un?" He found himself asking suddenly, wickedly even, as Sakura pressed her hand to the wound on his lower back where he had been slammed into a tree ealier. Unable to fight, it felt like the only way he could get back at them was to try and make them feel as uncomfortable as he did. The girl pretended to ignore him but could see her blush at his words. What was this hm? Deidara was not vain about his looks, (Kakuzu could give him fucking zombie arms for all he cared, as long as it enabled him to continue his art) but knew enough that he was an attractive guy. Ha, typical weak-minded girl.

"Do not talk like that to Sakura-san!" cried Eyebrows, indignant. Deidara had actually directed the comment at all of them; Eyebrows hadn't realised.

"Can't keep your hand's off me can you?"He breathed.

"Be quiet or we'll gag you!" a threat in his ear. The green suited Jonin guy was losing patience with him it seemed, haha. It was clear he didn't like this talk.

"...This is molestation, un, you Leaf guys, you think you're so noble..." Deidara continued, grinning, trying to keep an uncaring attitude, to show them that this wasn't bothering him, although he feeling even more nervous every passing moment. _HE _was the scary one here dammit, _they_ should be unsettled!

"Don't you ever shut up?"

"Gai, he's just trying to rile us because he's scared", said Kakashi from where he leaned against a tree, observing everything. Deidara had nearly forgotten he was there. Was he reading a smut book?... _He was_! The pervert was reading a smut book and watching him being molested by his bunch of crony ninja's, this was a fucking weird, awful day.

Seemingly satisfied with his wounds, Deidara was relieved when Sakura finally pulled Deidara's shirt back down and then proceeded to pull his coat back up over him, careful of both his wounded arms. He thought of making a joke - _What,__ you don't want to take my pants off and check there too? _but stopped himself, because he really, really didn't want them to actually do that. She took a cloth and began wiping away the blood from around his nose and mouth, stopping when she had most of it. He considered taking a bite at her hand, but his face did feel better now that it was less bloody. She left his lips, perhaps fearful of the bite he'd debated over giving; _ha._

They were all speaking to each other now, about the dead one, 'Garaa', about what route to take back...they were talking about returning to the Sand first. Wait, so was he going to be taken to the Sand instead of to the Leaf? Those people would rip him apart for what he did to their Kazekage! He remembered their roars of anger, screaming about the things they would do to him once they caught him; it had all seemed so funny at the time as he flew over them, out of reach, free, untouchable...he became more aware than ever of all the hands on him, keeping him down, controlled - _limited._

His head was spinning. He mind was reeling, he wanted to vomit, was this fear? Was he scared? He found himself thinking of Sasori, again, but Master Sasori was dead, he couldn't help him, would any of Akatsuki show up? It would be fucking humiliating but still...better than, than... "So are you taking me to the Sand or t-to the Leaf, un?" he tried to keep his voice cool but it wavered slightly, there was panic in it. They all ignored him, didn't even look at him! He HATED being ignored, treated like nothing! "Answer me, un!" Finally his voice came out loud. "H-hey un, talk to me, bastards, where are you taking me first!" He could hear the hysteria in his own voice.

"Sensei, he's really freaking out..."

His forehead protector was being untied. "Akatsuki, We have already asked you to be quiet", said Gai firmly, voice hard. He took Deidara's forehead protector and tied it tightly around Deidara's mouth.

"Wait a sec...Mmmph!" This was too humiliating! Now he really could do nothing, not even protest! He closed his eyes, not wanting to look at any of them any more. Panic rose in his chest and he began to shake uncontrollably. He tried to will himself to stop, but he just couldn't. He had been able to keep his composure pretty well until now, he didn't want them to see that he was afraid. Able to feel his legs a little more now, he thrashed weakly against them for the first time and they tightened their grip on him even more in response, but he was useless, his legs still felt weak, half numb. He knew he must have looked pitiful; a bloodied mess, partner dead and pretty much abandoned by the organisation, severely outnumbered. Just earlier today he was a terror of the skies! Evidently they must have been thinking so too, because with sudden sympathy (Or at least, that appeared to be what it was) the Gai bastard was talking to him in a decidedly less-hard voice, "Just calm down and stay still or you will only hurt yourself more. I'll admit, you are strong, but you are not right now. Realise that even the best would be rendered powerless in the condition you are in." Was that Gai's way of telling him he had some small respect for him? They still feared him at least, he knew from the way their grip never faltered.

Gai, Neji and Eyebrows pulled him up. Rope was being tied tightly around his knees and ankles. "I'll carry him," Gai hoisted him up over his shoulder, careful of his wounded arms, and hooked an arm over his knees. Gai wasn't being rough, but it was still really fucking uncomfortable and was not helping his headache. _If you could die from humiliation__... _thought Deidara.

He lost consciousness.

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TBC

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SORRY if some implied het snuck in there, it somehow wrote itself in of it's own accord; I don't even like Sakura! or TenTen! How come she got lines? She was barely going to feature but suddenly the fic was telling me that TenTen would take interest in his scope thing since she's into ranged weapons too, and that Deidara would approve his work being admired. Don't worry, there will be no DeiTenten smex (Stupid fic, stop writing het into yourself !*smacks it*) I promise there will be more on the implied yaoi later. No rape, maybe a little noncon type stuff....I can't help it, I love Deidara angst


	2. Confusion

**oops, chapter 3 was accidentally uploaded here instead of chapter 2 for a bit o_0 **This has been corrected now, sorry if it was confusing (if you read for chapter 1 straight to 3 it probably made no sense o___0) thanks Goldy-Gry for pointing it out

Chapter 2 :D

I changed around the time-line a bit with their arrival back at the sand and Garaa's Resurrection to suit my story. Yay for twisting facts!

Anyway I hope you like this chapter...

Basically more shameless Deidara manhandling and humiliation, yay :D

**Status of chapter 3: **muhahaha, it's finished, I wrote it together with this one. Just a bit more tweaking, should be up soon

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The group had come to rest for a while under the trees, setting down their bags to stretch their tired muscles.

Deidara had been awake for some time, feeling much calmer, much clearer now. He had regained his composure; it must have just been he initial shock of being taken captive, yeah. It was strange, he could take having his arms ripped off, and stared death in the face on a daily basis with barely a flinch, but being gagged had caused him a to have a full-on panic attack, it was stupid! Every one of these guys would have to die, for seeing him that way! It was the only answer. If no one saw it, it didn't happen, yeah...made perfect sense to him.

"Just ten minutes, and then we need to set off again."

Gai set Deidara down against a tree and went to join the others a few feet from him, where they were unpacking food onto the grass. Deidara's hair fell to it's usual place in front of his eyes, obscuring his face. He watched them through it, how long since he had eaten now? It felt like forever, the hunger was painful....

If he'd still had his hands, they would've been hungry right now for some clay. It was like an addiction, better than eating, and _way_ more satisfying. As soon as he had his hands back, he'd feed them a thousand scraps of clay, a million, fill the sky with creations... he smiled.

He was lost in thought when Neji left the others and came to stand over him, he was holding... something... Deidara regarded him warily. "What is it, un?" His forehead-protector-gag had loosened, falling down to rest around his neck a while ago.

"Are you hungry?"

_What?_ Were they playing with him, torturing him with the promise of food? Of course he was hungry! But they'd love it if he admitted that wouldn't they, he supposed now the damn boy would just eat it in front of him too...

"Do you want to eat this?" Neji reworded, seeing his animosity. He unwrapped the thing he had - a riceball.

So it seemed they were going to feed him after all, at least this was _something _good. But, wait, that would mean he'd have to be _hand-fed!_

"Aren't you going to get one of the girls to feed me?" Deidara grinned. "Or maybe both of them?" While still annoying, it would have feel somehow less embarrassing to be fed by a girl; babying and that sort of thing was a woman's work anyway. His manliness was kind of suffering, being tied up like this...

Neji did not move, "No. Now do you want to eat or not?"

No sense of humour at all, not even a reaction. So _boring_. And Deidara was absolutely starving. He hadn't eaten since before the extraction began, three, no, now four days ago! But he couldn't bare to ask his enemies for anything...didn't want to _ask..._

Deidara's stomach let out a long betraying rumble. _Oh great._

At that, Neji just held up the riceball in easy reach.

Deidara knew that it wasn't poisoned, they could have killed him at anytime...and it looked so, so good. He looked over at the others, they weren't looking...in fact they were all busy watching Gai have some sort of frantic eating-race...with himself. Every now and then Gai would look glance at Kakashi ; who was eating slowly behind his smut-book, and then he would elevate his speed - a mad glint in his eye. Eyebrows screamed _"TRAIIIIIINING!!!_" and followed his lead. What the hell? Leaf-nin were fucking nuts...(Itachi was from there, this must be why he was like that.) though admittedly the irony of Gai's one man race was quite funny. It would be annoying to be in a team with guys like that though. He imagined having a partner as crazy as that... wow, he'd probably strangle him.

Turning his attention back to the food, well...._ah...why not_. Deidara began eating. He ate slowly, calmly, although he was so ravenous he could have downed the thing in two bites.

He wondered for the hundreth time if he try should try and trick these guys into feeding him some clay...yeah, like they'd let him touch clay, they'd seen his jutsu and they knew that he'd used clay to do it. Who had his clay-pouch now? Looking over, he saw that Sakura was now wearing it, strapped alongside her medical-bag...hmm.

He finished the riceball. Deidara was still hungry but tried to appear as if he didn't give a shit. "Un," he grunted as he turned his face away, as a sort of affirmation that he'd finished. Deidara never thanked anyone, wasn't going to start now. But despite this attitude, it seemed Neji could tell he was still hungry, as he held up a second riceball without a word - Deidara ate that too, and then a third one. Neji let him drink from his own waterpack, waiting between each of his gulps to hold it up again. "Yeah, that's enough, Byakugan." said Deidara, finished.

It was embarrassing. Being hand-fed (and by a _guy _too_) _was pretty high on the list. But then by comparison nothing, _nothing,_ that happened to him now could really be more embarrassing than earlier when Kakashi had had to pull down his pants for him so he could take a discrete pee in the bushes. At least he hadn't been forced to ask for them for that favour either, Kakashi and Gai had seemed to guess that he needed to and then the whole thing had transpired without a single word from any of them; they probably had some experience escorting captives like this.

He realised that these guys were being..._kind _to him. It was sort of sickening. They weren't just being nice, but really _kind_. It was one thing to bring him back to Konoha alive, but they could have still have easily caused him further injury without killing him, they could have vented their anger on him the whole way back in fact, but they didn't. They not only gave him enough food and drink to stay alive, but let him have as much as he wanted. They had handled him gently after it was clear he was no longer a threat to them, bandaged his wounds (that _they_ had fucking caused!), and all in a manner that more or less allowed him to keep his dignity; they hadn't forced him to ask or beg for anything. They could have fed their ego's, bullying him, making him ask for pity (pfft, they would have had a long wait, he'd rather die!) but they had given it freely. How come they did that? What did _they_ gain from it?

Would he have treated a captive the same? Did he? He didn't give them a moment's thought; like that Gaara, he had just been a piece of dead weight furniture, dignity be damned, and even before he was a corpse - why would the jinchuuriki have needed any care, what was the point when he was going to die anyway!

A chill passed through Deidara...as far as these guys were concerned, he was..._going to die anyway_. Konoha were going to learn everything, everything they possibly could get out of him (nothing! like fuck he would tell them anything) and then they were going to execute him.

Don't think about that.

It wouldn't happen. He just needed an opportunity, that was all...

They were packing away again, already. Sakura came to roll up his tattered sleeve, checking his arm hadn't started bleeding again.

_She had his pouch_. He also knew she was easy from the way she'd blushed so readily earlier, "Hey you. Sakura-girl," he showed her his widest grin.

She seemed taken aback at being addressed by name, _working already_. "um, Yes?"

"The restraints on my legs; kinda tight. Insanely tight even. Loosen them for me? You're the medic here, right? You know best, un." _Yes, the flattery trick._

The blush again. Too easy, seriously she was pathetic. Was she the type who spent all her time thinking about guys instead of concentrating on her skills? No one could become a master at their art with a divided mind. This may work in his favour, though.

Sakura stared at him as if considering, it was a long-shot, but she could be stupid enough, then again...

"What do you take me for!" she huffed, finished looking at his arm, dropping his sleeve. "Seriously!"

She was annoyed? dammit. This called for...

Deidara made sure the others weren't looking again. This was a rare one for him. It took some effort, but he tried to look., ugh, _cute. NOT _weak-cute, no way, but he tried to muster the kind of look that should make a woman weak at the knees...he forced himself. It was sickening but whatever. He gazed up her, trying to look as harmless as possible. "But they really are too tight un.... _Sakura_." tried to sound sweet...

Her look softened completely at that. "Oh, I'll have a look, but I won't loosen them." _Yes. _

She knelt over his ankles and brought her face downward to look.

He'd have to be quick, Deidara estimated he would only have about two seconds to act after he began, or the other bastards would come running. He still felt too weak, but...

Deidara launched his tied-feet up hard, as hard as he could, under Sakura's well-meaning jaw, BANG!_ (yeah!)_.

"Ahh!" she fell backwards, startled. He threw himself forward with all the strength he could gather (pfft, these guys had underestimated him, not tying him to the tree!) and pulled up the cover of the pouch with his teeth, trying to take a bite of the clay inside. Nearly, nearly...

Sakura rolled aside suddenly, and the pouch with her! _Shit!_

A hand took a fist-full of the back of his collar, while another grabbed his hair, preventing him from moving forward. Deidara wanted to scream with rage, he'd been so close! He growled loudly in frustration and banged the ground with his knee since he couldn't hit it with his fist; had a tantrum right there. Ow, ow, he was even making his wounded body ache with his own rage.

"Nice try."

Deidara strained to look behind him, it was Kakashi, of course it was fucking Kakashi. Gai stood next to him, looking stern.

Sakura sat up, wiping at her bloody mouth and glaring at him as Eyebrows and Naruto ran to her side. Her eyes looked hurt. Did she feel a little betrayed since he had flattered her first? But seriously, you_ deserved _a good kick in the teeth for that kind of stupidity.

"What happened?" asked TenTen, appearing next to Sakura.

"I ...I was just checking his restraints, I might have leaned in too close..."

"God Sakura that was dumb, why'd you do that?"

"It is not Sakura-sans fault! He must have tricked her..."

"I'm getting sick of this guy Kakashi!" cried Naruto, "When are we gonna get rid of him?" He turned on Deidara,"What is your problem? She helped you, she didn't need to but she did! Aren't you a little grateful? Akatsuki scum!"

For some reason what the brat was saying really bothered Deidara, who was already riled. He had been thinking about this earlier, about their unnecessarily good care of him, even though he was an enemy...it was confusing, it pissed him off! "What's my problem?! un Are you all insane?" He growled, "Do you really think I owe you guys anything, just 'cause you didn't kill me? Yeah you got lucky, that's all, un, our positions should be the other way around...only I'm not so stupid, so you'd all be DEAD!"

"What the hell? You bastard!" roared Naruto, "Pretending to be all weak and co-operating earlier!" Naruto wildly pointed his arm into the woods...if he meant it as a reference to where they had come from earlier, he was pointing the wrong way. Idiot.

Anyway, Deidara had been genuinely weak earlier, was still weak now in fact; but if any of them thought that it was an act, than that was all the better. Deidara laughed. "What, hm, You guys really think you can tame me or something, that I'll come over all nice cause you gave me some food and bandaged me up, do you know who I am? un, What I do? I'm evil, right." he bared his teeth menacingly "... you guys don't even know the half of it!"

"ARRGH! Kakashi, gag him again! I hate listening to his shit!"

"Naruto, I'm getting tired of the both of you, you keep prompting him, so be quiet as well. And it's not respectful..." Kakashi looked over at Gaara. He had meant that it was not respectful for everyone to bicker like this in the wake of the jinchuuriki's death. Hmph, like Deidara cared about _that _kind of thing, that guy was his bench earlier!

A calm voice broke in. "Were we not supposed to leave a while ago? It was a ten minute break, but we have now been here for fifteen." Neji had watched everything in silence up until this point.

"Let's go Kakashi," Said Gai. "We can reach the Sand village by tonight." He leaned in at Deidara," and you won't have anymore opportunties for _that_." Deidara smiled._ hm, We'll see.  
_

"And Sakura," said Kakashi, "be more aware next time." He did not carry on, she seemed embarassed enough by her mistake already.

"Yes, Kakashi-sensei." It seemed she still had all her teeth, was his kick that weak? But it was not like close combat was his specialism.

They began to set out. That excursion had been almost interesting, well, easily more interesting than having to stare down at Gai's backside as he was balanced over his shoulder for hours on end...

Deidara sighed as he was lifted up again.

------------------------------------------

To be able to have the jinchuuriki extracted _and _the biju to just...go on living afterward. This was unheard of. Deidara felt a little put out, all his hard work defeating that guy, he thought he'd destroyed him. You couldn't, just, _un-_destroy things, that was backward, like if one of his exploding sculptures were to come back together again, it made no sense. So, was it even possible? He watched the old lady, Chiyo, begin to perform her strange backward-art on Gaara...she was giving her own life energy, becoming part of it. So she meant to die as part of it? _Art perfected by death_...that was art in it's highest form. He had to respect that. He watched quietly until the end.

But these guys were SO sentimental. The old lady's death had been something truly impressive but it wasn't anything to cry about. Naruto was hugging a dazed looking Gaara, who didn't seem to recognise any of them yet. Probably death made you groggy. The others gathered around joyously, well except Kakashi, who still gripping his shoulder, never letting up for a moment. Deidara decided he definitely did not understand them. It was a stupid display, even Neji was smiling. Creepy.

"We are quite near the Sand village now," said Gai. Deidara tensed at this, remembering the reputation on the Sand village prison, remembering the anger he had riled in the city. _Please no._ "Kakashi and I should stay back with this one, they want his head badly in there. You go on ahead with Gaara."

Wait, So they didn't mean to take him to the Sand village then? This was a relief! Mostly, it meant that he would have more opportunities to _escape._

Kakashi began undoing his coat.

"What now? She just looked at my arm, un." Deidara was annoyed. Why didn't they even warn him when they were about to do that? Just started pulling aside his clothes any time of day, it was disconcerting and making him even more edgy. He wasn't a doll.

"If anyone from the Sand sees you with us, even from a distance, they'll want to arrest you immeadiately - which would be a problem for us, because _we've_ already arrested you." Kakashi lowered his voice, "and you are better of with us than with the Sand, trust me."

Yeah yeah, Deidara already knew all about that. Well it did make sense. He helped to shrug his coat off, and Kakashi took his forehead-protector too, packing them away. Without his distinctive Akatsuki outfit, no one from the Sand should recognise him. Deidara had been flying so high above the city, that it was too far for anyone to have made out his face.

"People are coming already! I see Temari with them" cried Tenten, excited. "And Kankuro!" she was looking through Deidara's scope. She waved to them. Ugh. He had never, ever used his scope to wave at people.

Gai spoke to the group, "We don't want to lie to our friends, but Tsunade-sama has asked us to bring back any Akatsuki we can capture. The Sand may feel they have more of a right to him as he attacked their village, so to avoid trouble, don't tell them who he is." He looked pointedly here at Naruto. Deidara suspected that Gai's patronising explanation had been directed entirely at Naruto...

"Yeah I won't tell. He's ours, we caught him." grinned Naruto. Deidara looked forward to the day when Akatsuki caught up with the brat, that would wipe the smug off his face...

The small crowd of Sand-nin reached them. There were ten Sand-Jonin and...he recogised one of them as Gaara's brother! That puppeteer-nin that had tried to chase him so desperately, the one that he'd left to Master Sasori to finish off. Wait, so Sasori couldn't even finish an old lady, a little girl, or this guy who should have been his speciality; and all of them had come back to torment him! He had thought puppeteer-brother-guy was dead! Sasori had actually told him he'd finished him too! Ugh, probably Sasori had only poisoned him and left the job half done. Master Sasori, why....

He supposed the sister, Temari? Was the one hugging Gaara right now, but the brother, would Kankuro recognise him? He had been wearing his hat before, but...Deidara remembered how he couldn't resist turning back to smirk at him, allowing the tassels to fall aside, before skipping victoriously up onto his bird and taking away with the dying brother. He remembered meeting those furious eyes, narrowed with hate; hilarious back then, but not so much now the situation had changed...

Deidara shrank back a bit. He still hadn't been noticed yet.

The sand-nin were all jubilant about their Kazekage's return, they crowded around Gaara, thanked the leaf-nin, and registered surprise and sadness at the old ladies death. It was all very predictable, very boring. He hoped it would be over soon, wanted to get out of here.

"We can't thank you enough," one of the Sand Jonin was saying to Kakashi. "Our Kazeka-- is this boy alright?" The Sand Jonin had noticied Deidara kneeling there, keeping a low profile behind Kakashi. "We could help with your wounded, it's the least we can do." He was focusing on Deidara's exposed bandaged arms. But then the jonin's eyes moved to his tied legs. "A captive?"

"Ah...he's a bandit who attacked us on the road," Kakashi began, pulling an explanation out of his ass. Deidara wanted to roll his eyes. _Didn't think about how to explain that one in advance, did you bastard?_ "He has only a small bounty on his head," (Did Kakashi _have_ to add small there? Come on! ) "But we're taking him back to the Leaf village with us. And we already have a medical-ninja travelling with us, so thankyou but,"

**_"YOU!"_**

It was Kankuro. He had shot up from his position kneeling next to Gaara, his painted face was a picture of rage. "You bastard! I recognise your face! You're the one, the Akatsuki who attacked our village! The one who took Gaara away!"

Shit.

Kankuro stalked towards him, Temari was rising now too, and the Sand-Jonin's all had their eyes on him. Deidara could do nothing but sit there and look back; what would happen? Would they kill him right here? Kakashi moved in front of him as Kankuro reached them.

"What is this Kakashi?" Kankuro's rough voice was low, dangerous. "You _were_ about to tell us that you had this guy with you, right? You weren't trying to hide or disguise him from us...because if you were..." Kankuro reached out and grabbed a fist-full of Kakashi's vest, threateningly.

Kakashi put up his hands diplomatically. "Kankuro, now..."

"Kankuro-san, He told me that this boy was a bandit they met on the road - " It was that Sand-jonin...

Gai, Naruto, Neji, Eyebrows, all of them, moved quickly to stand beside Kakashi, faces steadfast.

"Hey Kankuro, I know what he did to you guys, but he's ours!" It was Naruto. "Do you even know what we went through to get him?" Naruto didn't seem angry, but perplexed. It seemed he didn't want to argue with Kankuro at all.

"But why haven't you killed him!" Kankuro stared down at Deidara, seething, if not for Kakashi standing between them, Deidara felt Kankuro would have kicked him in the face. "He's one of Akatsuki - why isn't he dead!" He pulled out his kunai.

"Kankuro," cautioned Temari, warning in her voice. "Remember what they have done for us."

"Let's just talk about this." Kakashi's voice remained as calm as ever.

Kankuro seemed to gather himself, but teeth grit, he spoke in a strained manner, "Alright. You hand him over right now... and I'll forget that you tried to decieve us of his presence."

"We can't do that. Yes, this is Deidara of Akatsuki. The reason he's alive is because he could give us crucial information about the organisation, you should know this. The Leaf have their own ways of getting information out of prisoners, we're taking him with us to Konoha."

"But you are on Sand territory, you are harbouring our most wanted criminal, you cannot leave our borders with him now!"

"As long as the Akatsuki is someone's prisoner, it shouldn't matter right?" Temari stepped up, putting a hand on Kankuro's shoulder - calming him down? "The top priority, I think we can agree, is making sure that he stays captive."

"Temari..."

She continued. "We are all allies here. We owe you a great debt; but I must agree with Kankuro. It is more logical that you give him to us, as our prison is closer." She waved her hand towards the Sand village, it's high surrounding cliffs just visible. "He could escape from you or be rescued on your way back to the Leaf village, you know you can't promise me that it won't happen."

"Temari, shouldn't Gaara be the one who decides what happens in the Sand anyway?" Naruto pressed on,"He is the Kazekage right? You can't make decisions over him..."

"As you can see, he's not recovered fully enough to talk about this yet." She looked back at Gaara, he was still being supported by the Jonin where he sat on the ground. It didn't seem he was aware of the commotion... "As the head ninja here under Gaara, my brother and I make the decisions in his stead. And I'm sorry, but I think that Gaara would fully agree with us when I say we cannot allow you to leave with that Akatsuki!"

"How do you know he is not safer with us?" Neji now, everyone was getting in. A slight air of arrogance was detectable in his voice, "He easily infiltrated your walls and defeated your Kazekage on his own ground, but we have been managing him easily as you can see."

"Neji, less blunt." Gai was warning Neji that he was not being polite enough - pointing out the weakness's of the Sand's leader; they needed to tread carefully. The tension was growing - the Sand-jonins looked ready to draw their weapons at any moment.

Deidara was trying to maintain an uncaring attitude, even though he could feel the sweat running down his face. He used to relish the being centre of attention, but that was in the sky, not in the dirt with everyone else towering around, they were talking about him like a thing, just something to stake a claim on...

Kakashi spoke again, it seemed a plea this time. "Please, our village would benefit the most from nformation he may be able to give. The Akatsuki no longer target your brother, having somehow extracted what they needed, and so he is safe...We wish for Naruto to have a fighting chance against the Akatsuki too, he may not be as lucky as Gaara..."

Temari and Kankuro looked at Kakashi, at him, at Naruto. They looked eachother, as if considering. Were they changing their minds?

"We have to put our village first." There was something apologetic in her voice. "The risk of him escaping and terrorising us again, it simply can't be allowed to happen. Our people need safety, and we need their confidence in us. We are greatful to you, and we don't wish to fight you but ...Harbouring him we will consider treason! We will use the full force of the Sand village to keep him here if you refuse!" The Sand-jonin were drawing their weapons...

"Well that decides it then."Gai looked at Kakashi, "We can't risk a war with the Sand over this; it would be madness."

"Kakashi-sensei, can't anything be done? I know if I could just talk to Gaara about it, when he's better..."

"Are we really going to hand him over Kakashi-sensei?" Sakura seemed worried.

Kakashi didn't speak for a while. Still thinking, considering the best course of action? He looked down at Deidara, meeting his eyes, "We will have to hand him over to them for now...and we'll do it willingly, on the condition that he is kept alive until we can make further negotions with Gaara."

"We'll accept those conditions," Temari seemed satisfied, but Kankuro, silent, still glared at Deidara muderously. Earlier, Deidara would have returned that look with a smirk, with amusement. But he wasn't feeling so amused right now. Deidara instead set his features hard, he glared back all the same, at all of the sand-jonin, _I'm not afraid of you. _

The Leaf-nins were reluctantly stepping aside, away from him, and the Sand-jonin were closing in. New hands came to grab him. Deidara leaned away, cringed back a little; he was so tired of being handled, and it was like he could feel these guys anger bearing down on him, they looked rough...

One of them bent down behind him, and putting his arm's under Deidara's arm-pits, hoisted him up that way. Deidara stifled a cry; the pain was immense! His torn muscles throbbed around where his arms had been severed. This was why Gai had always lifted him by the waist.

"That isn't necessary, he's not resisting! And he's injured..."

"Be more careful," Temari ordered them, noting Kakashi's request. Although it was clear from her voice it was of no concern to her. "And cover him with something, I don't want the people of the Sand to know that we that have him yet, they will doubt us for not executing him swiftly."

Deidara looked back at Kakashi, Gai, the other Leaf-nin, until a blanket was draped over his head and shoulder's; he couldn't see a thing.

He was returning to the Sand village. But this time on the ground, as a prisoner.

---------------------------------------------

TBC

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**OMAKE**

Kakashi pulled off Deidara's Akatsuki coat. "If anyone from the Sand recognises you, even from a distance, they'll want to arrest you immeadiately."

Deidara shrugged, that made sense...

"So, let's disguise you as a _GIRL_." ^___^

"WHAT."

"Quickly Sakura, switch clothes with him!"

"Yes Sensei!"

"ARRRRRRRRRGGGHHHHH!!"

"Everyone, hold him down!" :D

"I'll do his hair like mine!^^" Squealed Tenten.

"NOOOOOOOO!!!1"

......It was a long and tiresome battle. But in the end, they even shaved his legs. T_T

Though, Deidara had to admit they felt kinda nice like that.

And he looked damn fine in Sakura's hot pants.

----------

"**YOU!" **screamed Kankuro. Deidara's heart stopped...was he recognised?

"You...... do you...." Kankuro stammered, blushing. "...wanna...go out with me?"

"Nnn-" Kakashi threw a hand over Deidara's mouth.

"Who? Oh this girl-bandit we found? Sure she would!"

"She'd LOVE to"

"She's just shy"

"Here, we'll sell her to you -"

Deidara struggled free of Kakashi's hand...

**"I'M THAT GUY FROM AKATSUKIIIII!" **

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**Feedback:**

_**Reader:**_ Thanks for reviewing! I hope this was still interesting, a lot more happens next chapter I promise

_**K:**_ :D Thanks! I'm glad you think it's well written, I'm really trying to improve! Bwahaha, I like to see him suffer too. Next chapter, there will be real suffering, Oh yes. (actually I hope I didn't go too far. It is dark.) :D

And thanks to anyone else who is reading, faving, anything, I hope it does not disappoint o_0

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Next chapter is going to be a very, very dark one. I said in my previous chapter that this fic wouldn't go...there. But it did. I'm bad, I can't help it, I like torturing Deidara too much :(

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	3. Hurt

**chapter 3**

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**WARNING:** Some non-con happens. There is suffering. Since previous chapters had more light-hearted content I thought I should give a warning incase people didn't want to read this one. I don't know if it went too far...so I rewrote it. It used to be totally worse...so much worse.

PLEASE DON'T HATE ME...

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Deidara could feel the air growing colder and damper, it seemed they were deep underground now. He could smell wet earthen walls close around him, similar to the smell of his clay...big contrast from the smell of the hot dry sand outside. But it wasn't making Deidara feel more at home, he preferred the open sky and...he knew this meant that they were now in the dugeons below the Sand villages prison.

Where else, for a member of Akatsuki?

The irony of it wasn't lost on him. So, he had attacked the Sand village from the heavens above it, but like a fallen angel, had descended to the pit of it's hell....That sounded_ sooo fucking artistic and shit_. He'd would've had to remember that one to tell Master Sasori, if Sasori weren't dead...

But to be a fallen angel, you had to be an angel first, right? He almost laughed out loud, hit by the hilarity of the idea; really, he wanted to laugh about it with Sasori. Deidara started chuckling....was he starting to lose it a little...he musn't get hysterical. They hadn't even done anything to him yet...

_Just breathe, just breathe._

He knew the Leaf-nins had separated from the escort-group long ago, before even entering the Sand Village. He'd had a very real worry that the sand-jonins would start kicking him to death as soon as they were out of sight; but it hadn't happened, at least not yet. Their grip on him was intense and bruising, and they did not speak to him or to one another. He could not discern personality from any of them...Deidara readily admitted to himself that he missed those fucking Leaf-nin a little, compared to this, he did miss them.

His face was still hidden by the blanket over his head. As the escort had passed through checkpoints, no one was told who he was; his presence in the village being kept top secret.

After what seemed like an age it seemed they had reached the place intended to hold him; the sound of heavy doors groaning open.

"Is this him?"

"Yeah, this is the one."

"Shackle him in the interrogation chair, the interrogators have not arrived yet. We're still waiting."

_Didn't like the sound of this._

He was dumped down in a chair that seemed to be bolted down to the floor. The back of the chair was angled back somewhat. He felt his legs shackled apart by the knees and ankles to the part in front of it._ Breathe, breathe..._this was terrifying him. Hands clamped down on his shoulders and pressed him back.

"You are guys are meant to leave and guard outside, after delivering him here. That is what we were told, we're taking him now."

"We know, we know..."

Deidara heard the footsteps of several men leave the room, the ones who had brought him in.

He heard the doors being bolted shut, felt the blanket being pulled from over his head. Deidara found himself blinking in harsh, artificial light.

"He looks different then I thought he would..."

"His arms are half gone, how do I strap him to this."

"This one is designed for the neck..." Deidara heard the sound of chains rattling. They were stood behind him, he couldn't see...

A large manacle was clasped around Deidara's neck, what the hell? it was pulled back on suddenly, _ah!_ Was he expected to breathe like this? The end of the chain was secured somewhere behind, keeping his head painfully strained back. He gulped for breath as it seemed to tighten as much as it would go. His back felt taught and was aching already. Stay calm. Don't panic. Don't panic. Deidara realised he had some serious phobia of being restrained...he just hadn't known it until these last few days, when he'd _been_ restrained for the first time.

"That looks too tight, don't strangle him...we'll get in trouble."

"Tch, come on it's fine, I know what I'm doing."

They came and stood before the chair, studying him. Deidara studied them back. Two Sand nins of indiscernible rank; Okay, what. Didn't the Sand have anyone more powerful to guard a terrorist of his calibre? He was offended! Looking around the rest of the room he saw seals plastered over every surface, he recognised these. They were to prevent jutsu's being used, or for anyone to enter or leave this room by using a jutsu. Perhaps that was why...

"Not having so much fun now, are you?" One of them leaned over Deidara and slapped him, hard, across the face. "Yes, we saw you gallivanting around up there with our Kazekage-sama that night, everyone did!"

Deidara decided right then how he was going to cope with this.

"Hm? So you saw that?" Deidara grinned widely, cheek smarting a bit - he had two severed arms! What was a slap to him? "Pretty impressive display, wasn't it? what did you think, un?" He mustn't show weakness to these ones. He could see this guys were simple, weak; far below his level. If couldn't even steel himself against fodder like this, than what was he?

Deidara fully expected them to tell him exactly what they thought, with added violence. He showed them his well practised leer, preparing for a response.

The silence was deafening. He awaited their enraged reaction...but it didn't come. They looked furious, furious, but didn't make a move towards him. For a long time it seemed they stood there, it was...a little unsettling. Finally, they turned their heads to look at each other. When their eyes met, they smiled as though they had just come to an unspoken agreement...

They were smiling in a way that made Deidara's blood run cold.

"He's smaller than I was expecting, maybe it was the coat?" They spoke as if he wasn't there.

"And he's kind of pretty too... if you don't count the stumps." They came closer, one of them stepped back behind him, out of sight. Deidara couldn't follow him with his eyes.

"How can he still be a shinobi with no arms? Seriously! Or even a man, I mean, look how much of him's left!"

"He's only_ half_ a man now." They laughed again. All of the things he had planned to say left him, Deidara was at a loss for words. His body tightened with anger, colour rose in his face, as he took in what they were saying...thoughts he'd been fearing himself, but hadn't wanted to admit...their words struck at something inside. It hurt.

The guard brought his voice lower, huskier,"...but the half that's left, that's the only part that you really _need, right_?"

Suddenly the one behind him shoved his hands into Deidara's hair, pulling it? No, feeling it...

His heart stopped. _So_, it was to be like that then.

What these bastards seemed to think they were going to do, would not happen. It wasn't possible. It happened to other people, lower people, not to _him. He was dangerous, he was untouchable.  
_

_It was like a bomb in his mouth going off.  
_

_"DON'T FUCKING TOUCH ME!" _he snarled, animal like, whole body jolting against his restraints, they both jumped at his sudden change in behaviour. "Who do you think you are! I'LL KILL YOU! I'll _will _kill you! You'll be sorry you were ever born! I'll blast you to PIECES, It'll be an explosion like you could never imagine! You'll be art, and then you'll be gone, I'll watch as you turn into nothing, nothing will be LEFT! and that'll be it! You'll only last one second - not that even that! IT'S THAT QUICK! It'll be the highlight of your pathetic lives! You'll realise you were only born to be a tiny part of my masterpiece! There's no _FUCKING ESCAPE_, not even if you ran for a hundred miles-

The one in front pulled back a fist and punched Deidara hard, rock hard, in the stomach. He would have doubled over if not for the restraints - gagging painfully, he tried to recover, unable to curl up. He clenched his eyes shut as they watered from the pain.

"Well, your "cool" act lasted for about two seconds there Akatsuki. Seems you _really _don't like to be touched, do you?"

Deidara struggled desperately for breath, he couldn't have answered if he'd wanted to.

"...and what was all that weird shit about art and explosions? he seems kind of insane."

"'He'd have to be, to be in Akatsuki."

Now the one behind him pulled Deidara's hair out of it's tie and gathered it with the rest, pulling his fingers through it roughly. _"Don't like that?_" Gripping it, he brought his face in close until Deidara could feel the mans breath on the side of his face.

"Hey, how old are you? fifteen? sixteen?" he murmured, a trace of something new in his voice.

Deidara was nineteen (at least he thought so, he lost count easy). Why was he asking him questions like that? Did the sick fuck prefer to think that he was younger? He wanted to tell the fucker to mind his own business and get the hell out of his space, but just trying to draw breath was so painful right now.

"Oh he's ignoring us now, maybe we upset him,"

Deidara felt so confused, he had expected torture, but not of this type...and these men, they looked like normal people, totally normal, not like the faceless masked ogre of a torturer he'd imagined you might find in a dungeon. Why were they so sick? Deidara had always thought that he was pretty sick himself...blowing up shit was fun...but why did their anger come coupled with lust? Was it his looks? But surely he looked like a fucking mess right now; or did they get off on that, on having him so helpless before them? This cruelty, this malice they had...he could see it had been pent up...and they were letting it out, more and more...

The one behind pulled aside the top of Deidara's shirt..."'Don't touch me_'_, you said?" and then he_ bit _into Deidara's shoulder near the neck, long and hard_,_ hard enough to draw blood.

He jumped at that, nearly leapt out of his skin with shock. They laughed, again. That sound, he knew he would never forget it. He loathed it. He thought of the teeth he'd had in his hands, they were strong as flint; used to munching on clay, if he'd had those right now he'd tear this guy a new one, call that a bite did he...

The guard in front stepped closer, towering over him. For a moment Deidara thought he was going to be punched again...but then the guard _sat on him. _Legs on either side of his own, straddling him, the guy wasn't huge but he was bigger than him, and it felt suffocating. An overpowering wave of revulsion passed over Deidara at this unwanted closeness, this was too much, he wanted to vomit.

"Un, g-get off!" he managed.

"Oh? Why should we!" The guard shouted suddenly, erupting with anger, Deidara couldn't even turn away. "You were quite prepared to drop a bomb on us and our families! You little shit! And I bet you don't even remember any us from that night, but we all remembered you, you fucker, for the last four day's everyone in the Sand has been talking about only two things: the return of the Kazekage, and the most _painful _method of death for you! This isn't even anything. You wait till the interrogator's arrive...you'll miss us by comparison...

He ran his hands down underneath Deidara's shirt, his fingers were rough, bruising him. He unfastened Deidara's pants, tugging them down, putting his hands...

Deidara was overcome by a sudden numbness, all-over. It was like he couldn't feel the guard's hands touching him, or his restraints, or the pain in his arms...nothing even hurt anymore, was he in shock? He stared blankly at the ceiling, counting tiles now...

_Was this it. Was this payment...it wasn't just about the Kazekage, a whole population had watched him prepare to end their lives. All of them had seen him, but he hadn't seen any of them, not really. The city looked like a city from up there, nice layout, worth destroying...He never expected or contemplated that one day he might be faced on level with the people from it, with their hatred; now it was lose enough to burn him. And it was burning him. Everyone hated him so much. Everyone. Everyone he'd ever met. __A lot. So was this simply just something that had been a long time coming, Something unavoidable? Finally caught up to him? He had never thought of it like that..._

Thoughts of Kakashi, Gai and the other leaf-nin were coming to him unbidden; he wondered where they were. Would they still be in the Sand village, somewhere nearby? Were they travelling back to Konoha already? They hated him too, they had only even kept him alive for information but...they wouldn't have done _this_, even after what he put them through. But he wasn't their prisoner now, he was the Sand's. No sand-nin would disapprove of this, not after what he'd done, they had no reason to.

He closed his eyes. It was horrible, horrible. This intimacy. These men he loathed. He'd never been with anyone, hadn't wanted to. He still didn't now. But from what he knew of _it_, _it_ was supposed to be an experience, a coming together of two people; like two mediums, like when he combined his chakra with his clay, it made art... the creation of something amazing. But for it to be like this...this way was...ugly. He'd take any other torture over this, any...

He trembled violently, couldn't stop it. Tried to go somewhere else in his mind, high up, somewhere they couldn't reach him...

"So the little bomber _is _afraid then?" one of them chuckled, seemed surprised.

"He's cute this way...I'd actually feel bad if I didn't know how evil he was."

"Those looks are just to deceive, he's a demon inside..."

Deidara wasn't even aware of what he men were doing anymore, he felt so dizzy and detached, like this wasn't real. They continued for a time, the room growing silent except for the ragged breathing of the three.

"...oi, don't do _that_, or they'll know."

"I-I wasn't going to!"

"Psh."

"Fine, wouldn't want to catch something anyway...I bet he get's around, look at him. Probably what Akatsuki keep him for..."

They froze. They seemed to be listening. Voices were raised outside the thick doors...Deidara found himself trying to listen over his own heavy breath and racing thoughts.

"Shit, there are people coming!"

"Not for another four hours I thought?"

"Well, someone's coming _now!_"

"Fuck, move!"

The guards leapt away from Deidara as fast as if he had electrocuted them. The guard who had sat on him hurridly pulled up and re-fastened Deidara's pants, then readjusted his own. There was rapping on the door, then the sounds of bolts being opened from the other side.

"Open up your side, the Kazekage is here," a voice barked.

_"The Kazekage's come all the way down here!?"_

_"Shit, do I look alright_?"

_"Tuck in your vest...do I?_

_"What about him."_

_"He was already beat up before we got him, they won't notice..."  
_

_"I mean, what if he talks?"_

_"He won't...and who'll they believe, us or him...come on."_

They unbolted the doors and pulled them open, allowing the new figures to enter...

There was Gaara, Gaara looking fully recovered and imposing in his Kazekage robes as he walked in, Kankuro and Temari were with him. Others followed...Kakashi, Gai, Sakura and Neji were with them. Was he seeing things...Deidara tried to focus, the room was coming back together, he watched them...

He could see that they sensed the tension in the room; anyone could have felt it, you didn't need to be a shinobi- it hung thick and obvious in the air. They were instantly suspicious.

Gaara looked at Deidara, who was still flushed and trembling. Earlier, Deidara would have set his features into a hard stare, to glare back at his old opponent evenly; but instead he could only look at him blankly, eyes wide; he was still in shock, his body wasn't doing what he wanted it too. And Gaara, this guy he had fought before, this guy he had helped to kill...it was impossible to tell what he was thinking, Gaara's face was expressionless.

"What's wrong with him?"

"He's probably realised he cannot escape the might of the Sand, Kazekage-sama,"

"He must be fearing the prospect of our just punishment."

They donned completely different persona's for the Kazekage. These guys, they knew enough that Deidara was proud, that he wouldn't say anything. And they were right, Deidara had no intention of telling anyone about it - not ever. What had just happened was too disgusting, too shameful...to have others know that he had been so weak as to have that happen... for people to have seen him like that... he glanced over at them.

They had composed themselves completely, not even broken a sweat. Were they practised at...this? A new worry came. What if he were left alone with them again? The idea was making him sick, sick. But even if he said something... would anyone believe him? He was terrorist scum, the number one enemy... or would they even care if they did know?

"You."

"Kazekage-sama?"

"Why is there blood on your lip, and a bite mark on his shoulder?" In their haste, Deidara's shirt had been left askew, revealing the angry mark.

"I bit my lip, and...that mark was already there."

"No it wasn't!" Sakura's shrill, indignant voice, "He's lying! Kakashi-sensei..."

"I know Sakura, but wait...."

The guard was staring at them, stunned, "How dare you-"

"These are my friends, don't speak to them in a disrespectful manner." Interrupted Gaara. "Now, I think that you lied to me just now. And I think there are other signs in here that would show you are lying to me..." Gaara swept his eyes over the guards.

"N-no Kazekage-sama...well yes, but...he is the one who kidnapped you isn't he-?" He caught himself, fearing that bringing up Gaara's defeat would be an insult to his Kazekage, "No, What I mean is! Isn't he the enemy? This section is reserved for the worst criminals, who's crimes measure the greatest, usually we can ...do what we like...that is the custom."

"That was the old Kazekage's way. My laws are different, have you not yet familiarised yourselves with them? I know the change-over is quite recent, but it should be in effect. Prisoners from any section are not be disciplined without written permission from the prison-council, and only carried out with a Jonin present."

"But in this case..."

"No exceptions."

Gaara spoke to Kakashi. "As we discussed, you can take him; I trust you completely. You can leave the prison through one of our tunnels, it ends near the city wall. Someone will lead you. I'll deal with these men and see that they are disciplined." He motioned for Temari and Kankuro. Whatever they had been thinking, they did not show or say. They stood grimly on either-side of Gaara, arms folded.

"Ah, but Kazekage-sama, you see-----"

"Thankyou Gaara..." there was relief in Sakura's voice.

Gaara and the guards continued to speak. Deidara's head span even more. Those men wouldn't be touching him again, so why did he continue to shake? Maybe the message hadn't gotten through to his body yet. His skin was turning cold and clammy from the sweat, his breathing still restricted. And he couldn't understand Gaara's indifference towards him, why didn't he hate him, want to hurt him - Deidara didn't understand at all.

"Deidara?"

Someone was addressing him... by name...it felt like forever since he'd last been called by it. Kakashi was next to him now, looking at his face in concern. "Deidara, can you hear me? Can you answer me?" Deidara just looked at him, his voice refusing to come. Neji and Sakura hovered nearby, looking worried.

Kakashi and Gai undid his manacles, starting with the one around his neck. He could relax his back when it was released, but his neck still felt so stiff and painful, and it made an odd sound as he tried to bring it forward. "Let me see - this won't hurt," Kakashi put his hands around the base of Deidara's neck; he flinched, but Kakashi just rubbed at it, massaging it gently, it was what Deidara would have done if only he'd had his hands, so he tolerated the gesture. It eased the pain.

"Come on kid," Gai pulled him out of the chair to stand on unsteady feet._ Kid?_ Deidara couldn't see his own face but wondered if that was what he looked like right now. Kakashi brushed aside Deidara's hair and looked carefully at his eyes; Kakashi seemed anxious. Did he really look that bad? He felt in a daze, unable to say or do anything of his own volition, just allowed them re-tie his legs and place the blanket back around him.

---------------------------------

"When we get him to Konoha, do you think he'll tell them anything about the Akatsuki?"

"Not really, he seems far too stubborn to do that."

"Yeah, I think so too."

"Mind-techniques then?"

"Could work."

Kakashi looked down at Deidara who was sleeping next to where he was seated, hair half obscuring his face. He was snoring softly and muttering "un," at brief intervals every now and then. It didn't seem so surprising that he even made that sound in his sleep.

"How old do you think he is?" asked Gai.

"Hmm, probably seventeen or eighteen. Why?"

"He just seems too young to be part of Akatsuki."

"Itachi was thirteen when he joined."

"Ah yes, I suppose it's not really that young then."

Gai stoked at the fire thoughtfully. Their students slept peacefully around them, none of them stirred once.

"Gai, you can't think of him that way. He's not your student," said Kakashi, seeing where this might be going. "He is part of Akatsuki, you can't get attached. We were trying our hardest to kill him just the other day."

"I know, I suppose it's just where we've been looking after him for a while...And then it was us who let the Sand have him, and now he's like _that..._

"Gai..."

"...and he's got that awful handicap with his arms..I know it was necessary Kakashi, but, I mean, it just reminds me of when Lee was told that he'd never fight again."

"But Lee isn't a ruthless terrorist. This guy, if he were able, he'd kill us. He nearly leveled the whole Sand village... you know that."

"I know."

...But Kakashi did understand what Gai meant. When they had entered the interrogation room, Kakashi had been struck by Deidara's appearence; he'd had one of the most awful, stricken looks on his face that Kakashi had ever seen. He looked so far from that laughing, menacing flying-terror that had thrown missiles and idle threats down at them from his high vantage point...he looked like a child at that moment. It was impossible not to feel some sympathy, even the Akatsuki it seemed, were only human.

They had entered the Sand Village, having no choice but to wait to speak to Gaara. The team recieved a hero's welcome, but there were many matters that needed seeing to; a funeral for Chiyo was being arranged, and Temari and Kankuro wanted to know everything they could about what happened with Gaara, Chiyo and the Akatsuki they had fought.

All the while, Kakashi had thought of Deidara. It was so important to Konoha that they obtain information on Akatsuki; it was paramount. But Deidara was so hated in the Sand village, things could have easily gotten out of hand... if Deidara were to be killed, then Kakashi would have felt accountable for his death as _he_ had been the one to hand custody of him over to the Sand village. Really anything that happened to Deidara there would be his responsibility, Kakashi would be the one with the blame, the one having to explain to Tsunade what had gone wrong. Gai had been burdening similar feelings of responsibility, maybe worse. To complicate things, Kakashi was also concerned about Sakura who became upset when Deidara was taken; and Kakashi knew it wasn't just about the possible loss of information. She became too easily attached, Deidara was not some wounded animal she had bandaged up and cleaned the blood from, he was their enemy, Kakashi had had to remind her of it. He'd had to remind himself too...

The roles had completely reversed, a few days ago, they had all worried about what Akatsuki were doing to Gaara, but now they worried about what the Sand village were doing to one of Akatsuki...

Gaara had then asked for them himself, wanting to thank them for his rescue. He was very formal with them, being the Kazekage and speaking as one should; but his level of gratitude and affection towards them was highly apparent. Free from Shukaku, he already seemed less troubled and more relaxed in both body and mind...was that_ something_ at least, to thank Akatsuki for? When he spoke of Deidara, there had not even been argument about whether or not he would allow them to leave with him, Gaara agreed to it readily, "_I trust you_". Temari and Kankuro were not happy with the decision, but it wasn't their choice to make and they knew it.

Gaara had gone with them to the dungeons, it was necessary that Gaara be there in person for the release of Deidara; because the Sand's most wanted prisoner was not to be released otherwise.

And what was when Kakashi had seen him...like that.

Kakashi had already noticed Deidara's (very obvious) inferiority complex and his intense shame at showing weakness during their initial capture of him in the forest. It had been ridiculous, almost sad to watch. He had actually expected a more dignified response from a member of the Akatsuki, mostly based off his previous interactions with Itachi and Kisame; though it seemed Akatsuki recruited all sorts of personalities. Deidara had been completely at a loss for what to do when faced with close physical encounters, helpless without his ranged attacks and flying creations. Initially Deidara had tried to appear uncaring, but his behaviour had quickly become hysterical as he was tied up and gagged.

Kakashi remembered how constrained Deidara had been when they saw him in the interrogation room...and now Deidara seemed completely detached; Kakashi had a good idea what those guards had done to him to rattle him so deeply, even if his more naive students still seemed unsure...

Naruto, Lee and Tenten had not been present when they went to the interrogation room, instead spending more time in the upper world of the Sand village. They were rejoined with them to exit together through the hidden tunnel. They had all noticed Deidara's obvious change in demeanor. "_Did they drug him_?" Tenten had whispered to Neji and Sakura, confused.

"_I don't know.._." Sakura had whispered back. Kakashi couldn't tell if Deidara might have been drugged, along with the abuse, either, to be honest. He looked so out of it. Kakashi had had a look at his eyes, they appeared to focus on him properly but seemed so vacant...

Even Naruto had shown concern, quietly asking Kakashi as they walked, "Sensei, so what's wrong with him? Did they torture him or something?"

"Yes." Kakashi had replied, giving the short answer. Despite Naruto's earlier vehemence and threats toward Deidara, he had not been pleased to hear it. Of course he wouldn't be; Naruto was not that kind of person. Kakashi thought that Lee might have guessed as he did not ask any questions; he seemed thoughtful, sad. Lee didn't like to think badly of their allies.

As it became darker, they had set up camp and rolled out their blankets. Gai set Deidara down, and Deidara had slowly lowered his head to the blanket, lying on his side, staring ahead. Kakashi knew he would have to speak to him about it...He approached Deidara and sat down, the others were gathering wood to make a small fire, although the night was warm it was moonless and dark.

"You don't have to talk to me about it, if you don't want to," said Kakashi, voice soft. He'd been told on several occasions that his voice had a calming effect. "But, do you want me to look at anything?... I won't tell the others - or would you prefer if Sakura...?" He looked down at Deidara. Deidara was still gazing ahead of him, face blank. He gave no indication that he had even heard Kakashi speak. He was still too shaken up, Kakashi would let him sleep.

"Hm," Deidara uttered quietly, not moving, he didn't turn his face to look at Kakashi. Kakashi listened carefully. "Don't pretend to be kind to me un, any of you...I don't like it...I don't need it," his voice lacked emotion, it was as empty as his face. "I would still kill you, first chance I get."

When Kakashi and Gai had released him from the interrogation room, he'd witnessed relief in Deidara - although to be fair, anyone would be grateful to see even their enemies save them from such a situation. But Deidara had shown a sort of dazed, child-like dependence on them that made Kakashi feel strangely parental; right after being pulled from the interrogation chair, Deidara had actually buried his face into Kakashi's chest. Perhaps Deidara had forgotten that, simply blocked it out; something too embarrassing for him to remember.

Kakashi continued to watch him. Eventually Deidara closed his eyes. Kakashi thought he was asleep, until he heard Deidara speak again.

"Kakashi."

"Yes?"

"...gonna be sick, un." Deidara turned on his knees and vomited as Kakashi held back his hair.

None of the team complained as they silently packed up the campsite and re-located it thirty yards away.

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TBC

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I'm horrible! I'm evil! I can't help it. I love Deidara but I like to see him all angsting and suffering (And out of character...) *hides in a corner and cries* Forgive me, Deidara...

Also, I finally remembered the Sand Village is called Sunakagure but felt it would be weird to start calling it that now...and too damn lazy to change it...T_T

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**FEEDBACK**

**_Goldy-Gry:_** Thanks for reviewing, glad you like :) hope this chapter is ok, its very different from the others

**_Rainingsprinklesdownmythroat:_** Thanks for reviewing! glad you though the end of the last one was funny hehe :D Hope this chapters not too dark

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Next chapter underwaaay


	4. Turn

I just did a slight re-write of the first half of this and re-uploaded it, if you notice any changes. It didn't seem quite right suddenly, sorry about the alterations.

**Chapter 4**

---------------------------

Deidara eyes were closed, couldn't bare to look.

Unwanted lips brushed his face, they caused him as much agony as if they had been knives. Unwanted hands ran over his shoulders, gradually tightening, gripping him harder...

--------------------------

_Someone was gripping his shoulders._

Deidara woke with a start_.  
_

"Hey! Hey, um, you awake?"

Who was that? he tried to focus; it hurt his eyes, too much orange and yellow...

It was only Naruto.

Deidara was breathing fast, the nightmare still lingering around him. If he'd had his hands, he probably would have tried to strangle Naruto on impulse; but, as it was, he could only lie there.

The forest came back into focus above him...so he was still with the Leaf-ninjas. Deidara strained his head, looking around the campsite; the fire was just ashes now, and the other blankets had been rolled up. He was alone with Naruto, but could hear the voices of Lee and Neji talking, somewhere nearby. He wasn't_ there_ now, wasn't in the Sand Village...

The Sand Village. They'd let the Sand Village have him. He'd been pretty unpopular there. But unpopular wasn't really the word for it... he'd been taken to the dungeon and... Deidara could feel sickness rise up in his empty stomach at the memory. His head hurt so much, and his mouth felt _gross_; he'd been sick last night, Deidara remembered now. He wondered where Kakashi was...and what did Naruto want?

Naruto seemed agitated. He was leaning over him, his hands on Deidara's shoulders.

"Oh, good, thought you weren't gonna wake there." Naruto grinned now and let go, he crouched back on his heels. Wait, was Naruto _smiling_ at him?

But, Naruto's smile seemed strained, false; the type to be dropped in favour of another emotion...Was Naruto about to yell in his face again? Most likely. Deidara didn't feel up to making comebacks right now. He felt all burnt out; just wanted to think, wanted to be alone and think_. Go away. I can't handle your shit today._

"Kakashi-sensei told us to let you sleep, but it looked like you were having a nightmare or something, I don't know." Naruto explained, his words hurried. "Anyway he also said to tell him if you woke up or you did anything weird, but 'cause it's my turn to watch you, I'm not supposed to leave, I guessed I should just wake you up..."

Naruto leaned closer, glancing around warily as he did so. He spoke quietly now, gently even; smile dropped completely. "So, um, are you ok? You looked kind of beat yesterday, kind of different from normal..." Naruto fidgeted. "Gaara, he's not a bad guy, he's not, I know him. His dad, the last Kazekage...he was kind of fucked up, I don't know, left some messed up rules around..."

_Wait, Naruto was concerned? Was this really him, or an impostor?  
_

" but you're not there now right, and your in one piece so I guess they went easy on you, or well, didn't go too hard on you," Naruto struggled,"Well, by one piece I mean well, how you were when they got you," he was saying everything wrong, he was stumbling over his words." and I mean, by 'easy' I mean like, not dead..." Naruto laughed nervously, rubbed at the back of his neck. "I mean...so that's good right? You're lucky really, it's something good isn't it?"

Was he_ 'ok'? _

He was_ 'lucky'?_

_'It's something good'?_

Deidara just stared at Naruto for a moment. He couldn't think of anything to say - he spat in Naruto's face.

"He-hey!" Naruto at wiped his face, shocked "I'm trying to be friendly, what's your problem?"

Deidara seethed, tried to sit up. "Fuck off you little shit, un!" _Stupid fucking child! get out of my face. Naruto had no idea how bad it was for him, he was so stupidly fucking childish and naive..._

_Innocent_. Deidara had always considered himself wicked, a master of cunning, a bringer of messy,_ violent _deaths...but yeah, he'd been pretty inexperienced in other matters; in intimacy, like Naruto probably still was...If it were him, this time yesterday he couldn't have fully comprehended what _that_ would be like. This time yesterday he would not have been capable of thinking these things. Deidara's face grew red. He envied Naruto for that...for still being...

"Oi, Naruto! Are you bothering him again? They said to leave him alone. You have to put aside what happened with Gaara," Neji and Lee had come back.

"Wha- all I did was ask him how he was, that was all!"

"Why is he all worked up then?"

"Naruto, you make him upset. Gai-sensei says it is not fair to threaten a captive; he is at a disadvantage from us, don't cause him added grief."

"But I _wasn't_ threatening him!" Now Naruto was upset."I was just asking if he was ok after that stint in the Sand yesterday!"

Neji and Lee looked at each other.

"We are not supposed to speak to him about that!"

That_. That. _Did they know what happened! Did all of them fucking know? Of course they did. He thought hard, remembered more of yesterday. So, they all knew how weak he truly was? But if it was forbidden to talk about it, did that mean they were worried about his_ 'feelings'_, that they thought he was fragile? What was worse, their tip-toeing, or Naruto's lack of tact? He couldn't decide. Oh god why wouldn't they shut up?

"I-I thought talking about it would help!"

Neji reached over Deidara to grab at Naruto, he yanked him up. "You're an idiot!"

Deidara yelled suddenly. An unintelligible sound, "Get off, un..."

They all looked down at him, confused, none of them were touching him.

"Shut up un, just stop, I'm not, not..." _He wasn't what? _Now that he'd started, it was like he couldn't stop talking, he was rambling,"I'm not, even...nothing happened, nothing even happened, it didn't un, didn't, even fucking happen un, they...didn't...they..."

Being surrounded, being tied, being shouted over, the angry voices, it was reminding him...

"Just...don't shout, un..." He closed his eyes. He wasn't there now. He knew he wasn't. He knew was stuck here in a forest with these stupid, inept Leaf-boys. For all their height they were still just kids. But still, still...Deidara clenched his teeth, he was starting to sweat. A horrible feeling of dread. "Just...it..I, they...just..give me a minute..ah...un...I.."

"Oh no, he's doing it again,"

"I will get Kakashi-sensei!"

Lee left, while Naruto and Neji knelt beside Deidara. They looked at each other; they didn't know what to do. Deidara realised he was scaring them. He was scaring _himself._ Naruto tried to put a hand on Deidara's shoulder. Deidara flinched away, hating him. "Hey look, I'm sorry, I - Sensei!"

Kakashi was there. He elbowed Naruto out of the way, sternly. "I said to all of you; tell Gai or myself when he was awake,"

"I know, but I thought maybe I could talk to him, that I could help,"

"I know you mean well Naruto, but you can't understand him. All of you go and join Gai and the girls, they're still re-planning our route back home."

Naruto rose with Neji. "I'm really, really sorry." They walked away, leaving Kakashi alone with Deidara.

"..I...I...un..." Deidara was trying really hard to keep a grip on reality, really hard.

"Hey? Just breathe, just rest your head down on your knees, come on,"

Deidara brought his forehead to his knees, it felt easy to be told what to do right now.

"Try to think about something else,"

"uh.."

"Something else, something good, Deidara?"

_Good? There was that word again, the one that had no place in his life now...  
_

"Y-you bastards, I c-can't even remember, un, can't think about th-that anymore, un. You stopped it--" _It was all their fault, that he'd become this._

Kakashi was still unmoving beside him, Deidara closed his eyes. After a while, Kakashi spoke.

"You like explosions, right?"

_Huh? _That had nothing to do with anything. But, there'd been a time when he could think of nothing but that.

"Yeah." When was the last time he had thought about exploding something? It felt like ages ago.

"And flying?"

"Yeah, un." He fucking loved flying.

"And the things you could make to fly on, that you could make explode?"

"They're not _things_, un, they're art."

"I see. Were they supposed to look like other things? Imitate other things?"

"They aren't imitations, I crafted them, all originals, un."

"Right, I just hadn't really seen anything like them before, so I wasn't sure."

"No, un, you wouldn't, they're my art; they're unique. Though I doubt _you_ could appreciate, un."

Deidara realised he was feeling clearer. Kakashi, he was a clever bastard. But it had helped, it really had. He felt a little calmer. It felt like it had passed now, that wave of panic, that cold dread.

"I've never really had much of an eye for art."

Deidara lifted his head from his knees and glared at him, "What are you doing, un, just trying to distract me?"

"Ah, you caught me out. Well yes, that's exactly what I was doing." Kakashi was smiling through his mask. Stupid mask. Stupid secretive Kakashi that he knew almost nothing _about, _but somehow had all the info on him.._._

"Bastard, un." muttered Deidara.

"Well, you had a good long sleep there." Kakashi stood up, stretched. "We will have to continue on toward Konoha now."

"Urrgh."

"No, come on now, you know we have to." Kakashi yanked up the blanket Deidara had been sleeping on; that Deidara was still partially sat on; and began rolling it up. He looked at Deidara, more serious now, "I will just say this Deidara, what happened, if you want to talk to me about it, remember that you can."

Deidara snorted, "I don't need help, un. And nothing did happen.

--------------------------------------

Sakura pulled the comb through his wet and tangled hair with some difficulty, "That feels better now it's clean, doesn't it? It's so long, I used to have long hair" When Tenten joined to help her pick out the knots, the two of them began chattering about hair. His hair, their own hair, other people's hair, who out of their friends that they thought had the best hair, which hair colour they thought was prettiest on a scale from one to ten with one being the highest (blond lost first place to black after some debate).

Deidara had never really much kept the company of girls, so he was unaccustomed to hearing conversation of this stunning level of quality and intellect. UTTER FUCKING CRAP. So trivial and childish. One of most pointless things he'd ever heard, but, there was something strangely comforting about listening to all this, something safe and unthreatening.

"So, why is blond second."

They stopped for a moment, surprised that he was taking part.

"Well, obviously," began Tenten...

Earlier that day, it begun to rain. It had been very light at first, but then had become a huge downpour; and the team had gotten soaked as they travelled. The cover of trees had offered some protection, but the rain eventually got so heavy that it tore down on them even between the leaves.

Finally the group had made a detour to the slope of a nearby mountain-side. They chose a large cave, and building a fire within in, hung up all their wet outer clothes around it on wires. That was when Sakura had made the suggestion to Deidara of washing his hair, as they were all soaked anyway.

Sitting outside the cave in the rain, head bent, he'd allowed her to to do it. She'd been a bit surprised when he'd nodded, accepting the offer, but Deidara had wanted to wash for some time now. All the fighting and struggling had left him covered in sweat, dirt, and blood. But more than any of those, he badly wanted to wash away the traces left by those men, their taint; and the bad feelings that came with it.

Deidara wore just his under-shorts, letting the rain run over him. Sakura sat in front of him, working her hands hard into his hair; it was so filthy. Deidara was looking down at her clothes. He noticed several blood stains, they were a few days old...it was his own blood, it was from the time she'd first bandaged his heavily bleeding arm. Head down, he couldn't see her face above him, but he'd noticed earlier that a huge dark bruise had blossomed around her lips and chin; was that his fault? That was from when he'd kicked her in the face; but here she was, still helping him, doing him this favour. It seemed she bore no grudge - even though she should, really; he would have. But Deidara didn't apologise. Deidara never apologised to anyone.

So, that was how he came to be sat, half naked, in a cave with a bunch of half-naked Leaf-nin. Two of whom were combing his hair; and having the most stupid conversation about hair colours.

"Why blond is second, well, hmm," Sakura seemed thoughtful, it was a very important question of course. _(ugh)_

"Black hair has to be first, because Sasu--" Tenten stopped and looked at Sakura, apparently it was not good to say that name around her. hmm.

He guessed she'd been about to say Sasuke. Perhaps Sakura fancied Sasuke? She seemed the type to easily fancy loads of guys. He imagined Sasuke probably looked something like his bastard-face brother Itachi._Fucking Uchiha's.  
_

"Black hair because of mine, right Tenten?" Lee was sat nearby, wringing out bandages.

"Um, yeaahh." smiled Tenten.

"Yeah Lee, that's why." said Sakura. They were so kind to poor Eyebrows.

"Although, I would say that pink is nicest."

"No way, blond is so much better!" Naruto joined in. "Innit, Deidara?" _ (Naruto was so sickeningly cheerful and friendly since Gaara had been revived, was this what he was normally like?) _

Deidara hesitated, ".........Sure, un." He'd never considered this question in his life._  
_

"Sakura-chan, _I'm_ blond."_ Naruto; Captain Obvious._

"Well I still say black is better!" Sakura snapped back. Naruto looked put out, it was obvious why he'd wanted her to place him first... _(There must be some fucking triangle thing with them and this Sasuke, Deidara didn't even want to know.)_

"You talk about the most _inane _things," Neji sounded annoyed. "......where does brunet come in all this?" Like him, Neji was irritated and yet a little curious.

"How did we rate brunet, Tenten? Was it fourth or fifth?" Now Sakura was re-wrapping Deidara's arms and chest with dry bandages. That felt so much better.

"Dark, medium or light brunet?"

"Oh my God," Naruto gaped, "how deep did you guys get into this?"

**"TIME FOR BED, YOUNG ONES!**" Boomed Gai, creeping up behind them. It echoed loudly, violently, off the walls, making everyone jump. Ugh, he was in _that_ mood. "We need our energy for tomorrow...and I notice that you continue to place black first, it is no doubt the most handsome colour." Gai looked over at Kakashi, who sat near the fire reading his smut-book as per usual. Kakashi looked strange, wearing nothing except for shorts and the mask; much less imposing without his Jonin uniform. Less imposing, as in Deidara thought Kakashi looked kind of like a homeless bum..."Kakashi, they have placed black hair as first! That means it is valued above grey! My hair has defeated yours!"

"Yes, I suppose it has." Kakashi seemed to be barely paying attention.

"...._DAMN YOU_ Kakashi for your cool attitude!"

"Sensei stop yelling, please!"

--------------------------------------------------

Deidara lay furthest from the entrance at the back of the cave, Akatsuki coat pulled over him. He was unable to sleep. It was a little smokey, but warm, the fire still alight...all the clothes still drying. Everyone else was sleeping apart from Tenten and Lee who were just outside the entrance (it had stopped raining now.) It was their turn to keep watch; he couldn't see them, but could hear Tenten humming to herself, probably polishing her shuriken. He could hear Lee doing push-ups...he practised every spare second he got; whenever they stopped, even if it was only for a few minutes.

This evening. It had been...sort of good. Well, an improvement on yesterday at least. It hadn't been bad. He had missed being able to talk with someone, even if it was just a bit. Deidara wanted to talk even more now, but properly; he missed being able to have a deep conversation. He had used to talk to Master Sasori about everything; about art, about fighting, about death. They'd always had conflicting views because Sasori's opinion was always completely wrong and full of shit but he'd still enjoyed talking to him. But Sasori was dead and he didn't have anyone else...uurgh, was he getting lonely? He was he was starting to sound like a _girl._

Deidara felt like he wanted to talk about _it._ There was something sad about not being able to do so. He would have rather died than talked about it just earlier, and would probably feel the same about it tomorrow, but at this moment he so badly wanted to talk about_ it_...

Talk about it to...Kakashi. Kakashi was a bastard and everything, but he'd talk to him, he'd listen; he'd _get it._ Kakashi was always patient with him, no matter how much Deidara swore at him the fucker was always just really calm; how did he manage to be like that? Not stoic, like that cold bastard Itachi, just, well; relaxed, mellow. Master Sasori had been a relaxed guy too. The other Leaf guys, they talked to him too but they didn't understand. They talked about clueless stuff, and tiptoed around him; he couldn't talk to them about what had happened. They were just kids, Gai too, he was better, but he was still a big kid. But Kakashi...  
For some reason he just knew that whatever he told Kakashi, it would be kept secret. He kind of, trusted him? Was that what it was? Okay so the bastard had violently severed one of his limbs, but, for example, he knew for a fact that if he woke him up right now, then Kakashi would be quite willing talk and listen to him, not get angry - because apparently that guy just never got angry. And he wouldn't look weak, or lose his reputation, because only Kakashi would know.

Even if they didn't talk about _it,_ Deidara just knew he wanted to talk to Kakashi again, about anything. It was so important, for some reason...

He was sleeping next to him, about a foot's distance away. Mask still on; did he ever remove it? Deidara wondered what he really looked like. Maybe he was all scarred up, like him, like he was now?

Deidara cleared his throat quietly, "Kakashi un,_...Kakashi..._"

"Hm?" after a moment Kakashi shifted and turned to look at him, it seemed he a was light sleeper. "Deidara? Do you need to go?"

"Uh.."

Suddenly, Deidara couldn't say that he had just wanted to talk - it was stupid, he'd look stupid. Why'd he feel like such an idiot suddenly? Kakashi thought he needed to go; needing to out for a piss was the only reasonable explanation for waking him in the middle of the night, so anything else would look so stupid...

He was not about to admit that he'd woken him up because he'd been feeling_ lonely_...FUCK no.

"un...yeah...that..." Dammit.

Kakashi got up and put back on his (still slightly damp) forehead protector he had removed to sleep. Deidara realised he had bothered to put it back on only because he knew Deidara couldn't stand the sight of his sharingan... Kakashi came and knelt in front of him.

"Are you alright?"

He looked at Kakashi, sitting face to face with him, patiently waiting for him to speak, wanting to hear what he would say, listening. It was hard to meet Kakashi's eyes for some reason, instead he found himself staring at the line that separated his mask from his face, that cut it in half; it seemed fascinating suddenly...

"Deidara, what is it. What do you want?"

_Why the hell was it so fascinating._

He couldn't find the words...

Deidara leaned forward, and pressed his lips against Kakashi's mouth.

Kakashi didn't move at first, but then he brought his hands to rest on Deidara's shoulders and gently pushed back, lowering Deidara away.

"What are you doing?"

_What the hell am I doing?_

Deidara didn't know how to answer that, because he really didn't know, seriously...  
Why'd he do that? Had he hoped that Kakashi would be the one to tell him, that Kakashi would help him somehow? But he was just looking at him. Deidara felt weird.

"I, I...un.." he struggled with what to say. _uhhhh? come on, brain..._he just didn't know.

Kakashi spoke gently; kindly, he always did. "You're just really confused right now, you've been hurt. It's ok. You didn't actually want to do that."

Was he just confused? If Kakashi was saying he was confused, then maybe that meant he really was.

_No, I'm not confused, I did want to do that, I still do_. For some reason, at this particular moment, it was the only thing he wanted to do. He leaned in again but Kakashi put hands on his shoulders to stop him this time, his actions firmer now.

"Deidara, no." he sounded calm but stern. "You don't really want to. I don't either. I'm sorry if I've given you any false impressions or ideas that have confused you. But you can't do that again...you'll be thinking more clearly in the morning - you are always bad at night. We'll both forget this, I won't tell anyone about it or think less of you."

_'I don't either?'_ Kakashi didn't like him?

......Wait, had he thought that Kakashi liked him? What the hell...

"Go back to sleep." He pressed Deidara back down onto his blanket, and then returned to his own. Deidara watched, not understanding...

Kakashi rolled over, turning his back on him.

"un..." _Hey, wait..._

"Sleep, Deidara." There was irritation in Kakashi's voice. He was annoyed....

_But..._

Had he just made Kakashi hate him? For some crazy reason the thought of it upset him! He didn't know why, why should it matter if Kakashi hated him? The other day, they tried to kill each other! They were supposed to hate each other! Why should he be upset that a guy who already should hate him, might hate him; that made no fucking sense! Was he going insane, being around these leaf-nin all the time? Was it just their pussy attitudes rubbing off on him somehow?

How come when Kakashi turned his back on him just now, it hurt fucking more than when Kakashi had severed his arm.

He was still the enemy after all, so why would Kakashi like him, and why would Deidara think that he would? Deidara killed the Kazekage, his friend, and he still targeted Naruto, his student...of course Kakashi wanted him dead...

_So why then, in the interrogation room, when Deidara had leaned into his chest...why had Kakashi put his arms around him, held him?_

_Had the gesture just been something to make him easier to handle, easier for them to transport to Konoha? Just an act, to keep him calm? All of the kindness, was that it's purpose? They didn't like it when he was wild, they'd gagged him when he was wild, they were nice to him when he was...easy_.

And...Deidara looked down at his ruined arms. He looked like a complete wreck, and felt like a complete wreck, nothing compared to what he once was...

_'...only half a man now,' _the memory resurfaced, it was horrible, but it was true; he was incomplete, inadequate...halved. What could he do for someone, like this? What could he offer someone...he didn't even have his looks. As well as making him utterly useless, his body was disfigured and ugly...He remembered, at his capture, Sakura had gasped at the first sight of his wounds; putting a hand to her mouth when his coat had been first pulled down, even Gai had flinched.; _Missing arms_, it was not like a small scar or something.

Deidara had thought he wasn't vain. But it was bothering him, that he was difficult to look at; he could barely even look at_ himself_, so why would anyone, why would Kakashi, want that?

He'd ruined everything just now, by doing that. By annoying him. Now he couldn't even talk to Kakashi; he felt more miserable than ever.

Deidara hated him, for making him feel this way.

He would kill him.

----------------------------------------------------------------

_"Deidara does not talk easily, there is little danger of him giving the enemy information."_

_"But everyday that a member of Akatsuki is held captive, the more we, as an organisation, lose face."_

_"And it is not just a question Deidara's loyalty and stubbornness, a genjutsu expert may be able to pry information from him in other ways."  
_

Akatsuki held assembly once again, called for by the Leader. But this time their numbers were two less.

"Ahahaha, just replace him!" Laughed Hidan, "If blondie was dumb enough to get captured, then why'd we want him back?"

"Deidara is hard to replace." The Leader spoke. " I will remind you that he successfully captured the Shukaka on the first attempt...and I might add that you have yet to capture your own target. It is important to keep our numbers, we have lost Sasori also, yet another member gone would severely ruin our plans.

"But, no, but yeah, but - he's shit now, he lost both his arms! Come on."

"Kakuzu, once we have him, you can reattach those, yes? Zetsu has recovered the pieces in the forest, he may need the right elbow reconstructed however..."

"I can do that easily."

"Where is he now? Wasn't he taken to the Sand Village?"

"It would seem that the Leaf ninjas handed him to the Sand Village, but they later returned custody back to the Leaf-nin.

"That's strange, why wou-"

"He was too annoying I bet! Listened to just one of his crazy speeches and gave him right back..."

"We don't know why, but the reason is unimportant. We just need to get him out of enemy hands. Kisame, Itachi..."

"We are far from their location currently," Itachi spoke, "close now on the trail of Kisame's target."

"I see. So then, Hidan, Kakuzu, you will interce-"

"UUUUUUUUUUUuuuuuuuuuuurrrrrrrggggggggh, noooooooooooooooooooooooooo!"

After a brief pause, the Leader decided he would ignore Hidan's outrageous groan and carried on, "Hidan, Kakuzu, you will intercept the leaf ninja's before they reach Konoha, and retrieve Deidara. Zetsu will meet you outside here and give you his ring and arms, they are sealed in a scroll."

"Done." Kakuzu got a word in before his teamate.

"However, it will be difficult as the Kyuubi travels with the team that has him, as well as Kakashi Hatake, the copy-nin. If you are unable to rescue him...you know what to do. The Sand Village would have executed him, but I will not have him reach the Leaf Village; it's possible their genjutsu experts may be able to extract information him. So kill him, but only as a last resort.

"Ahh, don't go giving these two permission to do that," drawled Kisame, smiling widely."You know how easily it could happen with them, the zombie-brothers, once they get going..."

"Fuck you, Kisame!"

"Hidan, silence. I'll kill you, I swear I will."

"Kakuzu-chan, you say that so often..."

"The meeting has ended, I expect you to take up your new mission with immediate effect."

Kakuzu and Hidan were the last to leave.

"Ha, I wonder how he's taking captivity? That guy get's edgy just from being in a small room!"

"Well, let's go and collect him."

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

TBC

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

**OMAKE**

Kakashi stood up, stretched. "We will have to continue on toward Konoha now."

"...It's kind of taking a long time, un... so how many days travel are the Leaf and Sand Village from eachother, anyway un?"

"Hmm." Kakashi approximated, "I'd say exactly as many days as the author finds necessary."

"Necessary for what, un?"

Kakashi just smiled.

"............o_0"

-----------------------------------------------------------------

Yes, Kakadei. Unusual pairing, but I like it (no one is more suprised than me...)

Ahhh this was so hard to write as I had several different ideas...but I know exactly what I want to happen for at least the next 3 chapters so those'll probably come faster :D

OMG did you see today's episode of Shippuden (123) *squeal* So much self-doubting (angsting) Deidara, whaaa *watches over and over*

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Next chap: it's comin'

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**  
Goldy-Gry:** Hey thanks for pointing out the weird error with chapter 2, my fault ^^ Glad you enjoyed the fic...ah the eviler version of chap 3, that things gone, I'm sorry XD I'm really sorry I can't answer your question about the death thing...because I don't plan ahead..I hope that not answering does not hamper your enjoyment of the story o_0 I'm so sorry *crawls under a table*  
**  
Pretty-Dolly:** Hey thanks for reviewing! Glad you like it, hope this chaps ok :D  
**  
RainingSprinklesDownMyThroat: **YES parental Kakashi and cute Deidara ftw :3 I hope you like this chapter ok :)

**K: **Glad it wasn't too dark! Glad you like the fic, so glad *skips around* I hope this chapters ok  
**  
Shadowelf144: Thanks :) **Ah yes I feel for Deidara too T_T even though it is fun to think of ways to cause him angst (bwahaha) thanks for reviewing!  
**  
Kieroko:** More angsting and suffering coming right up :D I'm glad you like the bond thing with the leaf ninjas, those parts are so much fun to write :) hope this chapters ok!  
**  
.xSatetsux.:** thankyou for reviewing :) Ahh, I'm sorry, it seems Dei chose Kaka over Neji ^^; Kaka's ok though, he's pretty hot?


	5. Death

Sorry if the last chapter was disappointing in any way, I'm finding the story a bit harder to write for some reason.

I feel like the chapters were getting better, chapter 2 was better than 1, and then chapter 3 was better than 2, but I feel like failed a bit with chapter 4, I am so sorry 0_0

I will try harder!

*angst*

-------------------------------------------------------------

**Chapter 5**

--------------------------------------------------------------

"What's wrong?"

"He won't eat or drink anything."

_Now this?_

"At least drink something, you need to drink." It was morning. Sakura was kneeling beside Deidara, Kakashi looked down at them. "You did yesterday," _He did yesterday, even after what happened before that..._ "just not thirsty?"

Deidara's head was lowered, he did not look up at all. When he did finally speak, it was very quiet.

"So, we'll reach Konoha tonight, un."

That empty tone of voice, it was like the other night. It worried Kakashi.

"We should do, by the evening. Yes."

Deidara did not reply. He seemed thoughtful, staring at the ground._ Was it sinking in to him finally, that he would not escape? The Leaf village was a very different place from the Sand, but Deidara would still be received there as a prisoner. A prisoner to be interrogated..._

"I'm not sure what you're thinking, but it won't be as it was in the Sand Village. Our interrogation..."

"Gonna torture me, right?"

"If you tell them what they want to know, then--"

"I wont, un." _He never would, they all knew that much._

"It's not really 'torture' - well, technically, they won't go easy on you, but it's more like mind jutsu's; mind probing."

"...and they'll kill me afterwards, un."

Sakura looked up Kakashi, the rejected waterpack still in her hands. Kakashi would prefer that she didn't listen to this yet, so he motioned for Sakura to leave.

"I-I'll see what Naruto's doing..." Sakura got to her feet and moved away, glancing back over her shoulder. Kakashi waited until she was out of earshot.

_Was there any point in lying?_

"It's likely."

Deidara said nothing for a little while. This reaction, it was...odd. "Well Yeah. Because we're enemies. I'd kill you too, un."

Not '_You'll never kill me!'_, not 'I _will _kill you'. Where had his anger gone, that emotional charge. Was he hiding it away now, withdrawn into himself? Outwardly, Deidara seemed to be accepting of the notion he would end up in Konoha; it was what Kakashi and Gai had been telling him all along. It was what Kakashi knew would happen. But there was something unsettling in Deidara's seeming acceptance of the idea.

Kakashi watched him, waited.

"Just...why all this then? What's the point, un. Like it matters if I drink or not. Why do you talk with me. I don't get it."

"Konoha aren't cruel to their prisoners, if that's what you mean."

"But _why_, un?"

Kakashi wasn't sure how to answer. How could he explain the concept of kindness to someone who just didn't seem able to understand it? Deidara didn't see practicality or purpose in the teams treatment of him, because there was none. It was just a choice, something they naturally did. The point of being kind to someone who was an enemy, to someone who was going to die soon... to a normal person, that would have needed no explanation.

Deidara shifted a bit, moving his bound legs uncomfortably; he did that very often. He'd given up asking for his ties to be loosened some time ago.

He spoke again. "You gonna be there, un?"

Kakashi guessed Deidara meant in Konoha.

"No. We'll leave you with the interrogation team."

_Was Kakashi going to be there? Did that mean Deidara wanted him to be? Because he couldn't._

Had Kakashi been too kind to Deidara, given him the wrong message; confused him? Maybe he had..."_You can talk to me_," He should not have said this. He wasn't Deidara's family or his friend. Wasn't his teacher, he shouldn't think of him as he did with Naruto, Sakura or Sasuke. Kakashi had to remind himself again that Deidara was an enemy and his duty was to either kill him or capture and deliver him.

But, although Deidara had proven to be dangerous, ruthless, cruel; for all the front he put up he was just a scared kid still, that much had been obvious on the first day. Deidara had no one else, they'd killed that partner, and the rest of Akatsuki, wherever they were, seemed to have abandoned him. Kakashi was leader here... how could Kakashi just ignore his needs? How could any of them? Deidara was not aware of it, but almost every action he made, nearly every word he spoke was some kind of plea for help. Deidara's unstable personality and the severity of his wounds meant he took a lot of work looking after. How could they not talk to him during all this? Kakashi had asked Deidara again, if he had wanted to talk last night. Another mistake.

Last night...hopefully it had been just a one-off, a result of Deidara's fevered, shaken mind. Just something Deidara might have done to the nearest person, to anyone. He assumed that Deidara would forget that he'd even done it.

_Kakashi hoped that he himself would forget it too._

Anyone could see that Deidara was beautiful. Kakashi had been aware that Deidara was attractive, but it was in the same way he was aware that Sakura, Naruto and Sasuke were attractive young people. It was just a fact, just something he was simply aware of and gave little thought to. But when Deidara had looked at him in that way, had given him attention of that kind...

Kakashi hadn't liked it.

Deidara's mind was a complete mess; it had probably been like that for a long time, even before the recent events which had worsened it. It was likely that from that deranged kind of mind stemmed the reason that caused people like Deidara to join Akatsuki, that chose to live in such a dangerous way. Deidara didn't think the same way as a normal person would. Deidara must feel desires like any another person, but to have directed them at his captor; there was clearly something wrong with him. Kakashi knew that much of the that problem had to be a result of what had happened in the Sand Village; a problem he had no idea how he could help solve. And it wasn't even his job, afterall, to help solve it. So why did Kakashi worry about it so much?

It was dangerous, to get close. For them and Deidara both.

The students, they had given it little thought yet, although Kakashi and Gai talked about it. They would find it very hard when Deidara would finally be left with the Konoha's interrogation squad, Ibiki, Inoichi... When Konoha had extracted what intelligence they could from Deidara, he would executed. He was simply to dangerous to be allowed to let live. He knew all that their students would find that hard to accept. Even Naruto. Especially Naruto.

Naruto forgave so easily, Kakashi had seen it time and time again. With the Resurrection of Gaara it seemed that he had completely forgotten that he ever felt so murderous toward Deidara, even that he'd ever held him responsible for Gaara's death at all. Naruto had an ability to bounce back like that, his capacity to forgive old grudges was huge. He'd seen him last night, talking to Deidara just as he would to one of his friends. Kakashi could see a little of Naruto in Deidara. That ability to bounce back, to keep going; Deidara had some of it. His reaction to losing both arms -horrendous- had not been much, he'd kept going. And even after what had happened in the Sand Village, he retained a little trust in people still. It was there. Although Deidara probably didn't know that it was. Yesterday when he'd talked to Kakashi, to the others, he'd tried to mask how he had really been feeling. How he must still be feeling now. It was unhealthy to pent everything up, and he wished Deidara would just let it out, but still; Kakashi had been impressed, how Deidara could still smile. It would take something stronger than that to shatter him...

Deidara's powers, when he was at full strength, must have been immense. They'd heard about the night Deidara had nearly destroyed the entire sand village. To produce enough force to destroy a city, that was truly devastating. And working at half capacity with one arm, and then with none, their team had still barely been able to capture Deidara at all, it was down to Neji's byakugan in the end, just a matter of finding him; Deidara had successfully fought and evaded them otherwise. That it had taken the maximum effort of all seven of them against this one with no arms, it would have felt shameful; had he not been Akatsuki and already defeated Gaara.

Deidara's technique was one that Kakashi had never seen before, and he'd seen with his sharingan that it was copy-proof; something unique to Deidara. Deidara had used the clay as a medium and himself, his own body as the tool to work it with, give it shape; art indeed. That such a skilled and creative mind should have to be wasted working for an organisation like Akatsuki, and that now he had to die, it was a huge waste of talent and of life. He remembered Haku, Zabuza...why did so many shinobi have to come to this.

That Deidara had to die in Konoha...it did feel wrong, looking after someone just for the purpose of allowing them to be killed later. To mistreat a prisoner, or to show them kindness only to let them down, let them feel betrayed later; which was crueler? Who was evil here?

'_But, why all this...what's the point?_' Deidara had asked. Was the question really so strange? He did understand Deidara's confusion a little...

Had they killed Deidara that first day, it would have been alright. But now it would be hard.

Kakashi realised he didn't really have anything he could say to Deidara. Deidara knew he was going to Konoha to be killed, and they were the ones taking him. Deidara had every reason to hate them, to be unhappy, to refuse food. It was the only thing Deidara could control in his life anymore...

"Gai-sensei! Kakashi-sensei!" Neji was shouting urgently.

Everyone was immeadiately on their guard.

"What is it?"

"Something is coming--I think it's Akatsuki!!"

The team gathered together around Kakashi and Deidara. Sakura and Tenten dropped their bags, readying themselves. Lee and Naruto looked eager; excited by this sudden commotion, but Neji seemed alarmed; if he suspected Akatsuki than whatever was coming had to be powerful. They made a formation.

"They must be after Deidara! Do we stay and fight, or make a run to Konoha?" Gai was stood over Deidara now, unsure whether to pick him up, or leave him down so he could be free to fight.

"It may be that they want Naruto..." Kakashi couldn't be sure of Akatsuki's loyalty toward one another. Deidara looked more alert now, would he know anything of this? Deidara looked up at Kakashi, and they met eyes. He looked a little surprised, as though he did not know what was happening either.

"How many Neji, and how fast?"

"Two, and they're nearly--!"

Kakashi could hear them now too. "We'll have to fight ---!"

A black blur moved around them, and slowed. Leaves and dust settled.

Neji had been right. Two members of Akatsuki stood there before them. Their distinctive uniforms left no doubt as to what they belonged to - but these two were not Itachi and Kisame, Kakashi had never seen them before.

"Finding you was easier than expected." The taller of the two, a masked one stepped forward. "We have somewhere else to be, so I'll get straight to the point. You have something that belongs to us," he pointed through them, at Deidara. _So they were not after Naruto this time..._"Hand him over immeadiately."

_"That one's chakra,"_ whispered Neji, _"It's not normal... I can see five masses,"_

_"What do you mean by that?_" whispered Gai.

_"It's like- it's like looking at five separate people, in one body...I don't know what he is!"_

"Hey Deidara-chan! You look more like shit than usual! They kick you around some?" The other spoke, he had silver hair and carried a huge three-pronged scythe.

"Shut the hell up Hidan, UN!" Kakashi heard shrieking down by his feet. Oh there it was. Deidara's anger seemed to have flared back up, he had to be embarrassed by his captive state in front of his teammates. Kakashi might have been glad to see it had the situation not been so serious.

"The second that Sasori's dies, you get captured! Not so great without him, huh? Not that he was much either, getting killed like that, hah! Your team is officially the shit one. Good thing we're here..."

"_I said shut up!_ Just shut the fuck up! I have everything under control, un! And you know Master Sasori coulda killed you in a second, un!" Deidara was incensed, it seemed Hidan had touched a nerve by bringing up Deidara's dead partner. Deidara had never spoken of Sasori in all this time, not to any of them.

"And exactly how do you have everything under control Dei-chan? You---"

"Silence, Hidan. Or_ I_ will kill you." The masked one was also annoyed by his brash partner.

"Pfftt...Kakuzu..."

Kakuzu spoke to Kakashi specifically. "You would be the Copy-nin, am I right? If so, then I can tell that we would have to fight for a long time, something I'd prefer not to do. But, unfortunately, our leader has ordered that we retrieve that other loud one - the one that you have there."

_Prefer not to fight?_ Kakashi and Gai looked at one another; What did this mean?

"Hehehe, _'...that other loud one_,'" chuckled Naruto. Sakura shushed him.

"How about a deal." It was obvious Kakuzu was the leader of the two. He spoke matter-of-factly, in a way Kakashi would even call business-like. But although his body language and words carried little threat of violence (yet) Kakashi didn't trust those eyes. His eyes carried real malice, and he had not blinked once. "You hand him over to us, and we won't kill all of you. We will just take him and leave. It would be more convenient for all of us."

His suggestion was not even a possibility.

"We have no intention of handing him over, and even less reason to trust you."

The masked one sighed. "We do have an engagement elsewhere, we're in a hurry. Look, we'll give you one minute to talk about it. One minute, and then we'll kill you."

"Kakuzu, you boring fuck..."

There was no way that they could hand Deidara over. But Kakuzu and Hidan, they really were waiting now. This was an opportunity for a little planning, at least. The group huddled close together, lowered their voices.

_"A peaceful option? This is unusual for Akatsuki."_ Gai was just as surprised.

_"I think if we handed him over, they'd release Deidara! And he'd just join the fight!"_

_"Wha- how?"_

_"I don't know, but they're Akatsuki! Maybe they have some weird healing stuff they can do..."_

_"You're crazy Naruto, that's the stupidest thing ever. Even Akatsuki can't grow back arms!" _Tenten was not impressed with his theory.

_"There is no option of letting them have Deidara," _said Kakashi. That they all knew it, but the most important reason why seemed to have gone forgotten._ "Gaara was understanding last time, but if Deidara became free and the Sand Village found out, after our promise to guard him; it could mean war."_

_"Oh my God, yeah..."  
_

_"These guys look like no pushover, especially with what Neji has said about the masked one."_

_"Kakashi, we should split up!_" Gai spoke again._ "If a few of us continue on with Deidara, and the others, with me and you, hold back these two; there would be less chance of him being rescued during the fight. Even if we cannot defeat them, just hold them off..."_

_"Right Gai, but one of us should stay with Deidara. You are faster, if your team take him on to Konoha, your team and Sakura, Tenten should stay here, we need some range..."_

_"I would be better fighting here!" _Gai didn't want to leave them, Kakashi knew when he'd said it that this might happen._  
_

_"We can't underestimate Deidara, he is still part of Akatsuki. One of us still needs to guard him. Other Akatsuki may even appear to try and stop us! If you you can get to Konoha, and don't stop..."_

_"That masked one's chakra, his hidden powers... you will need me to see it..."_

_"All right," _Gai saw where he was going now._ "Fine, I will take Deidara on to Konoha with Lee and Sakura. Neji will stay here to see that one's strange chakra."_

_"Sensei-"_

_"_Kakuzu! Hidan! They're gonna split up and--mmph!"

Gai threw a hand over Deidara's mouth. Right. Whispering their plans over Deidara's head, that had not been the wisest idea. Sakura supplied a strip of material, making a gag...

**"TIME'S UP!" **Hidan let out a loud yell and came right at them.

The group scattered immeadiately, diving apart to avoid the wide sweep of Hidan's sythe; swung a few feet ahead of him on a length of rope. Gai pulled up Deidara over his shoulder once more. To have charged straight into the midst of them, like that; what had Hidan hoped to achieve? Kakashi had never seen such stupidity...

"Stop movin' around!"

Hidan took a swing now at Gai, who leapt easily back. Gai still held Deidara on his back, had Hidan hit him he would have cut Deidara in half also! This guy seemed to have no plan at all, what was wrong with him?

The other, Kakuzu stayed exactly where he was. Why was he just watching? It worried Kakashi. Hidan seemed to pose little threat, if _this _was all he could do, to flail around like that...

Now he went for Naruto.

_**"RASENGAN!!"**_ There was a brilliant flash of light and sound of crackling, Hidan was met in the chest with Naruto's rasengan! He fell to the ground, unmoving. Naruto looked completely dumbfounded, shocked that it had been so easy; was this really Akatsuki's power?

Kakuzu dropped his suitcase. He raised a hand to his head in frustration at the ridiculous scene before him.

"Enough."

They were all still so stunned by the clumsiness of Hidan's attack that they were not quite prepared when Kakuzu disappeared suddenly. That speed! It was almost instantaneous, Kakashi could only even track that movement because of his sharingan. The others, they couldn't even detect where he was...

"GAI, GO NOW!"

Gai leapt away with Deidara; Lee and Sakura followed right behind him. Kakuzu moved to chase them and Kakashi caught on to him, tried to hold him back. But something was bursting out from Kakuzu's coat now, something rope-like was beginning to twist itself around his neck.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------

"Lee, you're bleeding!"

"Oh!"

Deidara strained to look around at Lee, who had just noticed his wound. Blood was running from a cut on his upper arm and dripping from his elbow, leaving a dotted trail of blood along the ground behind them. "I hadn't noticed! It is not deep. When that rude one ran at us with his scythe, I think he must have caught me with it."

"Let's stop for one second, we just can't leave a trail of blood like that, we could be tracked..."

"Good idea."

Sakura bandaged Lee's arm quickly, careful to make sure the bleeding stopped.

_When would Kakuzu and Hidan catch up with them?_

Deidara knew that Hidan wasn't dead. Hidan could do that immortality thing- because of his Jashin cult or whatever. Kakashi, Naruto, Neji, Tenten- they'd have to fight Kakuzu and Hidan both.

Deidara had never witnessed Kakuzu's skills himself but knew of his immense power, his immortality and five hearts; apparently Kakuzu was nearly one hundred years old! He didn't know much of Neji and Tenten's skills, but having fought Kakashi and Naruto; he knew some of their power; They were strong too. His jaw still hurt days later from where Naruto had punched him, that rage where he'd shown his Jinchuuriki, had grown two tails. And Deidara still suffered from where Kakashi had managed to remove his arm without even touching him! Would the leaf-nin have enough power to fight Kakuzu?

It had felt so close, that possibility of freedom. He had little affection for Kakuzu and Hidan; _(especially_ not Hidan who was Bastard-Number-One) but, Deidara did not want to die. Even if it meant he had to be rescued by those guys, he'd take it! It had felt good back there, knowing that Akatsuki had remembered him. His belief that he could escape without help, it had been dying. As much as he had been denying to himself over the last few days that they'd ever even reach Konoha, that doubt was always there. That thought in the back of his mind; _Death, execution._

This morning had felt like complete shit. Konoha was only a few more hours away and the thought of another prison, it chilled him. Kakashi had implied that they did not practice methods of _that_ kind in Konoha, but...they weren't_ supposed _to practice it in the Sand either, and they still had done so. And if Deidara couldn't get away whilst still in the woods, how would he be able to escape once inside a prison? It would all be over, if he was taken into the Leaf prison. Why did they pretend to want to help him still, at the same time as taking him to his death? Kakashi hadn't answered, maybe he didn't know either.

The Leaf-nin. Kakashi...it didn't matter how he felt about them now, didn't matter how confused he got. It had to be either him or them. And he wanted to live. That was all that mattered right now.

"Thank you Sakura-san."

"Lee, I'll get another suit for you in Konoha," Gai was examining Lee's ripped sleeve, "you cannot wear this damaged one, even though it does bear the marks of battle!" Deidara was getting dizzy. Gai sometimes flailed around when he talked, and to Deidara, still perched over his shoulder, it was pretty aggravating.

"Let's keep going--"

_"Caught up with ya!_"

It was Hidan! he leant against his scythe which he'd staked into the ground, he was panting heavily. The hole in his mid-section from Naruto's rasengan had already vanished.

"How did--!"

"Him again!"

"You! But we saw you die, you were hit by Naruto's rasengan!" The leaf guys, they didn't know of Hidan's immortality yet...

"Gai-sensei, do we keep going?" asked Lee.

"...Yes, we can't risk it, evidently he has some abilities we know nothing of,"

"No, no, wait. Wait," rushed Hidan eagerly. "I want you to _see_. Just watch this, I won't even lay a finger on you or him, you'll see."

They were some distance from Hidan. The leaf-nin didn't view him as an immediate threat as he not too close and in their knowledge, not very fast. They had to be wondering whether they should try to kill him or proceed with the plan and keep running...

_"Ahhhhh,_" Hidan moaned creepily. He'd stabbed through own hand with one of the long prongs on his scythe, allowing blood to gush from it into a mess on the forest floor. He felt Gai recoil in horror, Lee and Sakura's faces were similarly disgusted.

It was Hidan's ritual.

Hidan now dragged his foot through the blood, tracing a circle around him. It was so crude, Hidans's ritual was no work of art to him, as long as it did it's job...

But, there was a component missing surely. If Deidara was right, Hidan's ritual couldn't work unless he licked up someones before creating the circle?

"I already said my prayers on the way here." Grinned Hidan.

_"Prayers?"_ asked Gai.

Hidan said nothing at first. His skin turned black and skeletal markings appeared all over him, causing the Leaf-nin to gasp in surprise. "Let me show you," Hidan then plunged his sythe straight into his chest.

_"ARGGH!!"_

"Lee!"

When Hidan had cut Lee earlier! When he'd taken that clumsy swipe in the middle of them all!

"Lee! What's wrong?" Sakura put a hand on Lee's shoulder and he collapsed to his knees. Blood seeped through his clothes, the colour red quickly blooming all over his front.

"What have you done! What did you just do to Lee!" Shouted Gai, distressed.

The Leaf-ninja, they didn't know! They had not seen Hidan's ritual before, they'd probably never even heard of this jutsu.

Deidara was dumped down on the ground. Gai raced forward toward Hidan now, and he was aiming for a powerful kick to Hidan's head! Hidan didn't even move out of the way, he did not mean to dodge it at all...he smiled nastily at Gai._ That kick will only hurt Lee! Gai didn't realise, how could he..._

But perhaps Gai read something in Hidan's look at the last moment; something that gave him cause to doubt. The way Hidan fully intended to be hit. At the last second, he slowed his kick, and delivered it to Hidan's shoulder instead, less powerful, less force in it. Gai turned to look back at Lee who jolted and raised a hand to his shoulder.

Gai got it now, "How...!" He jumped back, away from Hidan, landing near Deidara again. He picked him up once more, Gai was taking no chances.

Hidan would be difficult for them to defeat now, once he got started in his ritual death was inevitable. Gai seemed at a loss for what he should do; attacking Hidan would mean further hurting Lee.

"Gai-sensei, he'll be alright!" Sakura had removed her gloves and a gentle blue light emanated from her hands as she held them over Lee's chest. She was concentrating hard.

"uugh--"

"Try not to talk,"

"Good work Sakura! Just keep doing that! We'll find a way to beat this guy!"

"Hey, hey! You're ruining it!" Hidan whined. "Stop that!" Hidan was healing at the same rate as Lee, his wounds easing up quickly. "I guess I'll have to do some more damage then!"

But Sakura was shaking already! Sweat ran down her face, it hadn't even been one minute! That wound, it should have killed Lee. Did it take nearly all of her energy just to heal that? There was no way she could heal something that severe over and over...if Hidan made another fatal wound...

"You can't keep that up that healing crap for long! But I can do THIS forever! It barely even costs me any chakra, see?" Hidan raised his sythe, prepared to drive it into himself once more...

Deidara was winded as he was slammed into the ground. Gai had thrown down Deidara in front of him. _Shit that was rough!_...one hand grabbed his hair and something cold and hard pressed against his throat, Deidara gulped a little, realising-

"Stop whatever you are doing to Lee, or we'll kill him immeadiately,"

_Gai was holding a kunai against his neck. _

"Sensei, don't--!" Lee spoke with effort. He lifted his head, a streak of blood ran from his mouth, identical to the one on Hidan's face.

Lee and Sakura looked frightened. Deidara felt frightened now too, and not just because of the threat of the knife.

Blackmail. Deidara would blackmail someone in an instant, he'd done it to Gaara, when he'd used the Sand Village against him. He'd actually done it to many different shinobi, to many different people in his life...

But, it was below Gai do it. Deidara could feel the hand grasping his hair trembling slightly, although the one holding the kunai was steady and controlled.

"Gai-sensei, please don't do it."

"Lee..."

Hidan stopped his actions, mid-stab. He looked so amused!

Was there a chance that Hidan would actually stop? Deidara knew Hidan was a crazy selfish bastard that would readily turn on him. But he was following orders from the Leader, to retreive him - that was a reason! Was it possible that Hidan might stop what he was doing if it meant killing Deidara?

"Ha. We have orders to either bring him back - or ensure he's killed! So do it, I don't fucking care!"

_Ensure he's killed_?

Deidara felt foolish suddenly, he really should have expected this, should have seen it coming. Akatsuki were all a bunch of **FUCKERS_!_****  
**

True, Deidara had grown to kind of like working for Akatsuki - well, whatever, as long as he could still continue his art as he pleased, it didn't really matter what he was part of. But still, Deidara had never _chosen_ to join their shitty club in the first place, never wanted to! And now they had just changed their minds like that, were quite prepared to kill him?

This meant it made no difference if Gai killed him now. It would not save Lee, but it would stop Deidara from being freed. And he would be, if the fight continued like this in Hidan's favour. It would prevent that war with the Sand, it would protect their stupid precious peace. It would save Konoha, some place he'd still never even seen. He braced himself.

But nothing happened.

The kunai did not tighten further against his throat, it didn't move at all. Gai's hand was as solid and steady as ever, but, when he spoke; he voice was filled with emotion.

"You would betray your own teamate like that, so easily! It's vile!" Gai practically spat every one of his words. Deidara was hit with a little of the spray. _Eww, eww..._

"Yeeeaah, isn't it?" Hidan grinned. He cocked his head to one side, impatiently. "You gonna do it now? Probably be more fun if you un-gagged him first, he's a noisy fucker. Something to listen to while killing."

Gai was taken aback by Hidan's crude words, he was disgusted. "_Y-You're sick!_ You're_ insane_...!"

"I know," Hidan smiled and then stabbed into his stomach once more, wrenching the scythe from side to side now, eliciting a terrible pained noise from Lee - it looked excruciating...

Gai let go of Deidara. He left him, and unable to attack Hidan, he ran to Lee and Sakura; Gai didn't how he could help Lee!_ No, you're supposed to force Hidan out of the circle!_ Had Deidara been ungagged, would he have shouted it? He didn't know, he did want Hidan to win! Right? Deidara didn't want to die in Konoha, that was definite! But he also knew he didn't like seeing Gai, Lee and Sakura in this way...what the fuck.

Sakura didn't look like she could keep i up, the blue light from her hands was dimming and the blood continued to flow from Lee and Hidan both, with no sign of letting up.

But Hidan broke from the circle himself now! Had he gotten bored, waiting for Sakura to run out of chakra? He was going for all three of them. Sakura and Lee were in no position to do anything, but Gai stood in front of them, ready to defend. Did Gai know that once out of the circle, damage caused to Hidan couldn't hurt Lee anymore? It didn't look like it!

A hand lifted him up off the ground by the back of his clothes.

"I can't trust you to do anything, it seems." Kakuzu had caught up with them.

"Oi, Kakuzu! Let me go! I can do this on my own! These guys are MY sacrifices! Hey!" shrieked Hidan. Kakuzu was holding Hidan still, pinned to the spot by holding his arms with tentacles.

"Idiot. You'll just get yourself killed. I'll take care of them, you take Deidara now. Get away from here." He dragged Hidan back roughly through the dust until he stood by him. Kakuzu thrust Deidara at him. _ARRGH!_ _It was nothing short of alarming to be thrust into Hidan's ugly face, especially when he was all skeletal and shit... _

Deidara looked over Hidan's shoulder, toward the leaf-nin. Gai was taking the moment to fuss over Lee, he was kneeling down by him, along with Sakura, an arm around his back and bunching up a wad of material against Lee's chest, trying to stop the bleeding. Gai never looked away from the three Akatsuki, not once. He met eyes with Deidara. Was Gai regretting that he hadn't killed Deidara just now? But he didn't_ look _angry, just worried, he was so worried about Lee...

"What about those last guys?" asked Hidan, "You finish them?"

"I took care of them. You take him, now. I'll see to these ones too."

_Took care of them?_ Had Kakuzu killed them? But Kakashi, he had his mangekyo sharingan, and Naruto, being a jinchuuriki, those huge advantages_...had Kakuzu really managed to do it?_

"Urgh, fine!" Hidan grabbed Deidara from Kakuzu roughly, pulling him up awkwardly under one arm, so that Deidara faced forward.

Hidan looked down at him, and Deidara looked up._ Great. Carried by you now. Hello bastard, I guess._

"Pfft not too heavy, well I guess since half of you is missing, on top of the fact you're a midget-"

Deidara could do nothing but let out a long, low growl. _MIDGET!?_

"Hidan, get out of here immeadiately, or I really will kill you myself!" He struck at Hidan with his briefcase.

"Ow! Fine, fine! But next time, you owe me sacrifices, remember that..."

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"I'm sorry, they took him...those two new ones, they were too strong."

Kakashi, Gai and...most of their teams. They were together again. A squad of Niju Shotai were with them now; Shikumaru and Izumo, being lead by Asuma.

Kotetsu, his fourth member had gone on ahead to Konoha with Lee, Tenten and Sakura. Lee had been very badly injured by Hidan's jutsu. Although Sakura had managed to stop Lee's bleeding, he had had to be sent on to Konoha immeadiately; Tsunade's healing was needed.

"Tsunade-sama sent us out here, we are hunting two that Akatsuki were spotted in this vicinity last night," explained Asuma. He seemed calm, but his voice held an air of urgency.

"We didn't expect to come across you, but it's a good thing we did!" Izumo looked at Neji, "Are you sure he doesn't need to return too?"

"I'm fine, I still have good control of my arm..." Neji had been injured where Kakuzu's tentacles had wrapped too tightly around his left arm, almost squeezing it off. But he was able to use it still, and had insisted on staying with Gai and Kakashi.

Kakuzu had spared them back there. Or was it just that he really didn't feel like fighting, if he felt he didn't need to? He had left, gone towards the way Gai team had been heading. But Kakashi's team had been unable to catch up! By the time they did, they'd found Lee in bad shape, passed out. Sakura and Gai had been trying hard to save him, unable to pursue the one that took Deidara.

But a squad from the Niju Shotai had come across them. It was their job to hunt and capture any Akatsuki that entered the land of Fire. Kakashi had been relieved, he trusted these four.

Asuma spoke, "These two Akatsuki, who were sighted within out borders yesterday." As he spoke, he drew out a cigarette and lit it. "They were not Itachi and Kisame. We have a description of a masked one, and the other carried a large red sythe; they the ones that gave you trouble, Kakashi?"

"Yes, we met them, it was only an hour ago." he explained "We were escorting another Akatsuki member, Deidara, the one who threatened the Sand Village and kidnapped the Kazekage..."

"We've had word from the Sand Village about that. We heard that you had captured him, killed the other, and restored the Kazekage. Impressive stuff."

"But where is he now? Did he escape from you?" asked Shikumaru. To the point. Shikumaru was blunt...

"Those two, 'Kakuzu and Hidan' their names were. They took him. We tried...I could have done more. I should have stopped them!" Gai was holding himself responsible, but this was Kakashi's fault again! It had been his decision to split up the teams.

But there was another matter... "You said there was word from the Sand Village," Kakashi had to know."Did they say anything about us taking Deidara within their borders, about him being taken into the Village?"

"No," replied Asuma. Just that you had captured him. Why? What happened?"

"It's just that the Kazekage was very understanding with us. The Sand Village wanted him too, but we came to an agreement. It seems that it was kept secret..."

"I see, well you know us, we won't tell. This is better for Konoha and Naruto that we should get the information on Akatsuki anyway."

_That wasn't the problem, though._ "....There is a complication with Deidara, we made a promise to the Kazekage that he would not escape from us. Now that he has done so, now that Akatsuki have him back..."

"That...this is very bad" Asuma widened his eyes, took a long drag on his cigarette. He got it, he got how complicated the situation was. Izumo and Shikumaru exchanged glances. This was more than they, more than_ any _of them had bargained for.

"Gaara would still understand!"_ Naruto. Naruto and his unshakable faith in Gaara_. "Are you saying he'd start a war over this. That's crazy, he doesn't believe in war, doesn't want it any more than we do!"

"Gaara may be the Kazekage, but he took a huge risk when he allowed us to take Deidara." Kakashi pressed, "The decision annoyed the elders and other higher-ups of his village. If it becomes known to the Sand Village that Deidara has escaped; Gaara may even have to _step down_ as the Kazekage - a position he only holds by vote. There are always those waiting to usurp the position of Kage, they will jump at the opportunity to do so. What's more, with someone else as Kazekage, they are unlikely to be so understanding. There really could be war, especially if Akatsuki were to attack the Sand Village again; Konoha may be held to blame!"

"Craaaaaaap. I didn't even think of any of that!" Naruto finally understood, he was worrying now too, "I don't want Gaara to get in trouble, not because he trusted us!"

"So, we have to find Deidara." Asuma stood up."We'll split up, mix up the teams so you can explain those new Akatsuki's jutu's to us." He threw away the cigarette, put it out with his foot."I'll send for another squad of Niju Shotai from Konoha. We must Kill Deidara, and either kill or capture the others too, if we can. If the situation is too dangerous and you are unable, just track at a distance and use these mics to let us know where you are, and we'll send back-up."

"Wait, kill him? What about the capturing?" asked Naruto.

Shikumaru spoke again, he'd been quiet as he'd listened to them speak."Capture of a member of Akatsuki is still preferable, but very difficult. From what we know, it seems Akatsuki come after their own. It is easier to kill them then to keep them alive, because there is the risk of them escaping later. You had him for what, three or four days? And in that time you could have easily killed him anytime you wanted. But now, we have to go to all this trouble, we even risk a war over this now. It's_ bothersome_."

"But, you are still saying, that if we can - we should take him prisoner instead of killing him?" Neji wanted to know too. It was like they were being told two different things.

"Our orders, directly from Tsunade-sama are still to capture first, if we can..." Shikumaru looked at Asuma for confirmation.

"Yes, but in _this_ case..."

"Look," Said Shikumaru, "It would really be better for Deidara to die, and another, _different_ member of Akatsuki to be captured for interrogation instead, if we can do that. From you've told us, it is specifically Deidara that risks our relations with the Sand Village. There are others out there we could capture instead. It's best that he's killed."

Kakashi and Gai looked at each other. Naruto and Neji were quiet too. What Shikumaru was saying made perfect sense, but none of them were happy with the idea. They'd gone through a lot to capture Deidara alive, to bring him to Konoha. To just kill him now, that would--

Izumo seemed perplexed, "Why are all of you so keen on capturing rather than killing this particular one anyway? You didn't bond with your prisoner did you?" he wiped at his forehead, frowned. "Never ever do that!"

"You don't need to worry about us." Said Kakashi. He rose now, as did the others. "We will find him, and we'll do whatever Konoha requires."

---------------------------------

To be continued...right now.

I hate writing action scenes, because all I really want to write is angst and conversation. I apologise profusely for the lame, contrived action in this T_T To make up for it, the next chapter is available immeadiately, hurrah! :D

Ahh, the Naruto-verse is revolving around Deidara, as it should do. But it's getting complicated. *Tries to wrap brain around it.*

Sorry if any of this is confusing. My writing and stuff.

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**Feedback:**

**FluffyKeira :** *Glomps back* Hey thanks for reviewing :) I was all like, YAAAAY when I saw I had 4 new reviews. Ahh Dei in girls clothes, who can resist that o_0 I don't quite understand how it works either! And it's ok, I don't think you are the only one who wanted to join in there *teehee* ahem. Deidara is best when reduced to angsty cuteness in my opinion. I'm glad you enjoy the fic so much, hope the future chapters do not disappoint :D

**La Ange Noir:** Thanks so much for reviewing! So glad you're liking it, hope the next chapters are ok :)  
**  
Achillea: **Thanks for reviweing :D I've never been a fan of KakaDei either, it just...happened, out of nowhere o_0 This fic was originally to have no pairings at all, hm. Anyway, hope you like the rest of the fic! :)

**Goldy-Gry:** GaiDei? Really? o__0 hmm him and his f**king youth power...actually that pairing could be kind of fun haha *thinks* Not in Grounded though sorry XD  
About the character-death ending thing. I didn't say because it's really not decided and I don't like to give away much about the story anyway. But you seem very worried about this, so after some thought, I'll tell just you. (ok, and everyone else who reads this) There might be two alternate endings to this fic. The one I feel is right for the fic and the one that my evil twisted side lusts for. Yus. P.S, Ah yes poor Dei, episode 124 was a sad day for us all :(

**black55widow:** Thanks for reviewing! Kakashi understand everyone he's so wise, and Deidara is too 'ahh I have seen and done too much un' to be as naive as the rookies. Anyway, hope you're liking the fic!

**.xSatetsux.:** Thanks for reviewing again!!, Kakashi rocks indeed! Um, SasuNaru? Nah, this fic is Dei-centric! Maybe the KakuHida is there is you squint though? Those two are so doing it :3 Hope the new chapters do not disappoint!

**RainingSprinkleDownMyThroat:** OOPS I must have forgot to add feedback for your review, so sorry, pls forgive me! Thankyou so much for continiuing to review, I really appreciate. I'm glad you approve the pairing of KakaDei :) I think it's cute. PLENTY of Hidan in the two new chapters, muhaha.


	6. Restored

Wrote most of chapter 6 before I wrote chapter 5, so anyway you get a double-chapter-bill. Woo.

**Chapter 6**

-------------------------------------------------------------

Reaching a clearing, Hidan stopped. Stooping only a little, he dropped Deidara from four feet up, letting him fall hard on his backside. _Argh!_

"...and so that's why you need to convert to Jashinism, Dei-chan!" He finally pulled the gag from Deidara's face, throwing it aside. Why hadn't he done that earlier_? Because he was a bastard, that's why.  
_

_Deidara was pissed. He should be glad at being rescued, at escaping death once more. He didn't care about Hidan's readiness to kill him; it had been nothing shocking in the slightest. But he was pissed as hell at his rough handling, and listening to him rave about his idiotic Jashin cult crap for the entire last hour!  
_

"Hidan, you twat, stop that, un!" Spat Deidara venomously as Hidan grinned and ruffled his hair roughly, messily. Hidan was enjoying the fact Deidara was tied up, enjoying tormenting him... "Just cut my ties already, un! Stop fucking around..."

"Yeah, yeah, fine." Hidan grabbed the back of his shirt, dragging Deidara backwards across the ground until his back thumped into the base of a tree. Hidan unstrapped his scythe.

"You're not going to use that are you!"

Hidan look genuinely surprised, "Of course! what else?"

_Urggh_, he remembered now that Hidan didn't carry a kunai on him, he used the scythe for fucking everything; did he even shave with that thing too? Deidara wouldn't be surprised. Then again, Deidara was a guy who loved to poke clay into locks and explode them even when he had the keys, so who was he to criticise Hidan for being impractical... maybe Akatsuki really were all freaks...

"Stay still or I'll cut you,"

Hidan clamped one foot down on the ties between Deidara's feet. Lifting the scythe up underneath, he cut upwards, slicing through the ropes; and also messily ripping the material at the base of Deidara's trousers somewhat. Then Hidan moved to the ties at Deidara's knees, needing to saw at them a bit...

"Careful you stupid bastard! UN!" shrieked Deidara, that huge pronged sythe thing was wavering dangerously close to a VERY sensitive area, and he didn't trust Hidan in the fucking slightest!

"Trust me." smiled Hidan carelessly.

"TRUST YOU! are you crazy, un?!" As far as Deidara was concerned, 'Hidan' and 'trust' were not even words that should co-exist together...Hidan was now idly scratching the back of his neck and yawning, holding the sythe with one hand and not even looking at what he was doing...!

_Deidara actually screamed._

"Don't be such a pussy, there it's done!"

Deidara's leg's were free, but it felt like he was having a heart-attack, it had been so close, so _close._

"Your face just now! That was fucking priceless!"

Deidara attempted to kick him in the shin, but his legs weren't working so great after being bound for, how many days? So he ended up just unsuccessfully poking at the air with his foot. Hidan was laughing at him so much now that he had to lean on the tree for support.

"Dei, Deidara-chan, I'd forgotten how much fun you were, so easy to scare." Hidan was still shaking a bit with laughter. He wiped his eyes and looked down at him. "Anyway, Sasori's _really _really dead then? How'd it happen, that boring bastard have an interesting death at least?"

"I didn't see. It was those Konoha shits, un." Deidara didn't just feel like telling Hidan any details, that it had been an old lady and a little girl that defeated Sasori. Hidan would just be annoying about it, he'd never been close to Sasori like Deidara.

It seemed Hidan could tell that was all the information he'd be getting on Sasori and, accordingly, changed the subject...to something much worse.

"So, the Leader told us you spent some time in the Sand Village huh? Haha, what, has every country had you now, just passed you 'round? Took turns?"_ Don't go there._

"Hidan! I'll fucking kill you, un, I will!"

"Nasty place those Sand dungeons, I hear; I bet it was fucking awesome! Did you get to see much torture? What sort of equipment did they have?" Hidan was eager to hear, he was such a freak - Deidara knew that he got off on that kind of thing, they all knew he did...

"I don't know, dungeon stuff probably! Unlike you I don't have a fetish for shit like that, un."

"Didn't rape you, did they, a pretty guy like you?"

Deidara froze. Then immeadiately after, he realised Hidan had meant it as a joke. Hidan didn't really think that, he just said all the things he knew would piss off Deidara the most...

But, Deidara should have continued shouting at him. Instead of freezing just now.

At his hesitation, a look of disbelief crept onto Hidan's face, "Woah...they didn't, did they?" He grinned, "_Seriously?" _

"Of course they fucking didn't!" he snapped, face aflame. _Oh shit._

"They did! I can tell!" Hidan looked_ joyous._ "Shit Deidara, that's too funny, so did you get any flowers afterwards?"

Deidara jolted as Kakuzu landed with a thud beside them, jumped down from a tree. He Straigtened his coat, looking incredibly bored. There was blood _all over_ him...

"Kakuzu, what happened un?" asked Deidara. _Gai, Lee...  
_

"I left them." He _sounded_ bored too. "They were taking a tediously long time to kill. Time I can't afford to spend."

"What about the other guys, the ones before them?" Deidara pressed. _Knowing who was alive mattered because he wanted to be the one to kill them, yeah. _"You said you took care of them, un?"

"The first guys? I wounded one of them, and in the end they just retreated."

"Which one?"

"One of the boys."

"Why do you care which one, Dei-chan?"

"I don't, un!" snapped Deidara. _So that would be either Naruto or Neji..._

"He got attached I bet, you're such a pussy Deidara-chan, even though they slapped you around...hey Kakuzu! Guess what happened to Deidara at the Sand Village--!"

"NOTHING HAPPENED AT THE SAND VILLAGE UN, I'M GONNA---"

"Shut up, both of you. I'm in a very bad mood."

Knowing Kakuzu's reputation, Deidara was silent. He had a lot to think about anyway -so, had all the Leaf bastards lived? That was good. It actually felt like a great weight had been lifted from him for some reason. It was because didn't want those bastards to die before he could show them his stuff. They hadn't even seen half of what he was capable of, had only seen the _weak_ him, he'd show them what he was really like, he had to...

Kakuzu stalked toward Deidara, shoving Hidan out of his way. "I need room to work." He summoned a long scroll in his hands; Deidara's heart leapt. The symbols on it were those of a preservation scroll!

"I'll stitch your arms back on now. I want to get this done quickly, we have other things to do."

Kakuzu pulled off Deidara's shirt over his head, and cut away the bandages Sakura had carefully changed just a few hours ago (Kakuzu used a kunai, at least.)

Hidan, watching, guffawed at the sight of Deidara's uncovered wounds. "Shiiiiiit Dei, even I've never been that much of a mess, fuck!" Even_ Hidan _was disgusted? Deidara looked down at them, seeing them properly uncovered for the first time; you could even see where the bone poked ou--uugh, Deidara quickly looked away again, staring ahead. Whatever, not for much longer now. He'd be bearable again...

Kakuzu unwrapped the scroll; His arms were there! The sight of them filled him with hope but also a strange chill; they looked strangely eerie, lying there like that. Cold. Lifeless. Would this even work?

"This'll hurt, but shut up." Kakuzu pulled back his sleeve, and his threads came out. Deidara had heard of him doing this but had never seen this technique in action...

He was quiet as Kakuzu did his weird thread...thing, and stitched his left arm back on; but couldn't help but make the occasional grimace or hiss. It hurt about as much as you would expect from someone stitching into your skin, and it felt strange as the nerves reattached, kind of knitted back together. A bizarre sensation. Deidara was careful not to speak as Kakuzu sewed, everyone knew he hated to be disturbed at work - and had murdered many of his previous partners because of it. Deidara had_ never _disrespected Kakuzu. It was rare for him to be around either Hidan or Kakuzu in person, at all.

"I should charge for this," growled Kakuzu as he finished Deidara's left arm. Concentrating hard, Deidara experimentally flexed his fingers; they responded! _Yeah!_ This was more like it! Despite the sharp pains, Deidara couldn't stop smiling widely to himself now, couldn't contain just how happy he was. It worked, it worked...! He felt a slight wetness in his eyes. What the hell?

Deidara blinked it away quickly. Whatever that was...

"Eww, not gonna cry are you? You're such a--"

"When I said to shut up, I meant you as well." snapped Kakuzu. Then he suddenly seemed to feel like commenting to Deidara, "I had to sew his head back on once - he whined and cried like a bitch the whole time, and that was just having his hair pulled."

Hidan was speechless for a moment, _"FUUUUUUUUCK_ YOU KAKUZU~!" Hidan _shrieked_, high pitched; his voice even broke on the_ 'FUUUUCK', _he sounded like a girl!

Deidara completely doubled over with laughter,_ shit, shit._.. until he felt the Kakuzu's thread pierce into his right arm this time.

"Now the right one. Your right elbow wasn't recovered, so I'll use this as a replacement." Kakuzu was sewing again, an alien piece of limb was to connect his two arm parts.

"What's that from, un?" _It had a weird tone and texture to it. What was it from? something human, inhuman? and which would be weirder to have...  
_

"Don't ask idiotic questions. It doesn't matter where it's from. It'll work, so just accept it."

_So he wasn't gonna tell, ominous bastard. Kakuzu was creepy as hell._

"Your body is a normal body, not an immortal body like Hidan's. So it will take time for the wounds to completely heal, but the feeling will be back now. It would take a few days for them to function completely normally again."

"But I can use jutsu's again now, un?"

"Yes."

The flesh of his arms had felt cold as death, freezing even. But now the warmth and colour was flowing back into them. Deidara turned his hands over and with the tongues in them, licked at the dry lips. It felt so good to have them back! He felt complete again, he could use his art again, do the simplest thing without help again...He itched a scratch on the back of his head, ah...

_Deidara had an almost overwhelming urge to do what he'd wanted to do for days; to wrap his arms around himself, feel safe...but not in front of these two, not in front of anyone._

Later, he'd just do it later. He could do anything he wanted now, finally._ Thanks to them...  
_

"Thanks, un. I really mean it."

Kakuzu, still withdrawing his weird thread stuff, stared at him.

Hidan was having a field day. "What the fuck! Next you'll be showing mercy, arranging flowers..!" Hidan turned to Kakuzu, "Kaku-chaaan, was that really Dei we took back there or a little blonde girl? Oh no wait, same thing anyway--"

Kakuzu hit Hidan in the face with his breifcase, stunning him into silence for a moment.

"Get up." He said to Deidara, wiping a sleeve over the bloody surface of his case. Hidan was muttering to himself, holding his nose. They were both watching him, waiting.

Deidara put out a hand against the tree trunk for support and tried to pull himself up. Hidan sneered, fucker was amused of course. Kakuzu was expressionless. "Can you do it?"

His legs no longer felt numb after being untied for a while, but still felt kind of weak; he rubbed at his calf muscles with his other hand; co-ordination in his arms wasn't too bad. Better than he thought it would be, actually.

"If you can't, we've been ordered to carry you back. But I'd rather not. And I'm getting _very _impatient," there was that subtle threat of anger in Kakuzu's voice.

_NO! ENOUGH carrying! He would not be carried anymore, not even one more time! There was no way in hell he'd have them carry him back to base! _It took effort, but Deidara, straining, stood up. _There_. He shifted his weight from leg to leg, that was better, yeah.

"Look at him. He's so gonna get killed by a fucking squirrel or mouse or something two seconds after we leave him Kakuzu."

"All he needs to do is lie low and get back to base. Hear that? No attention grabbing antics. Just get back; obtain your weapons, another uniform. I don't know about a replacement partner, talk to Zetsu there."

"Yeah I know. Back to base, un." They were saying he shouldn't, no; that he _couldn't _fight. Normally this would have resulted in Deidara throwing a fit, but he just wanted them gone now. Gone so that he could be alone.

"Good. We have bounties to hunt, Akatsuki doesn't run for free."

"Pfft, and I was kinda looking forward to kicking you around some more Dei-chan."

"One last thing before we go," said Kakuzu. "We don't have your clay; you'll have to get that, however you obtain it. But I gave Hidan a spare kunai to give you."

"Oh yeah, here," Hidan rummaged inside his coat and then idly tossed a kunai to Deidara.

_WHAT._

"You had that all along! Why did you cut my ties with your sythe, un!"

Hidan shrugged.

Deidara took one deep, slow, steady breath. He imagined Hidan exploding into a million teeny, miniscule, little baby pieces..._happy thoughts._

"And I want that kunai back later, it's not a freebie." added Kakuzu_. Stingy cheap-ass bastard. _

_-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------_

Deidara was making his way quickly through the trees. He was able to run at reasonably steady pace now, and moved noiselessly. He didn't feel steady enough to jump from branch to branch yet, and so stayed down on the forest floor. Didn't want a repeat of last time...

He was alone. Alone for the first time in days, he had his own space. It gave him strength, his spirit lifted and he felt so light, he ran even faster. Soon he could get some clay, make some art, make some explosions! _yeah!_

_He would show those Konoha bastards, he couldn't stand that they'd seen him like that. __Being tied up, being carried around, having to depend on them for everything, it had been too humiliating. __When he had his clay...he'd prove to them he wasn't weak. He'd show them..._

Just thinking about it, his hands were starving for some clay. _Craving_ it. He looked down at them for the hundredth time that day since they were returned.

Deidara couldn't stop looking at his hands, getting used to the fact he had them back. He turned them over, examined his nails. Really needed a re-paint, they were so chapped...did he leave a bottle in his coat, the one they had taken away? He wondered if fucking Tenten had laid claim to that like she had with his scope, but black nail-varnish wouldn't really go with her image, it would look so stupid! Only Akatsuki made it look good--"

Distracted, he ran directly into Kakashi's chest.

Or at least, his bunshin did.

Deidara watched, panting, peering cautiously around the side of a tree located further down. Whilst running he had seen movement up ahead and quickly separating from a clone, had hopped aside behind the tree; leaving it to keep on running.

Why was Kakashi-bastardface here? Hadn't Kakuzu told him the Leaf-nin retreated? But Kakuzu had been pretty vague with his answer, he was stingy with information as well as money. The Leaf guys, they were resourceful bastards, probably had come up with some plan or other; they usually did. So they were still chasing him then? Were the others nearby? Kakuzu said he'd injured one of the boys, did he mean Naruto or Neji? And Lee had been in pretty bad shape, had Sakura managed to help him? Kakashi would know if they lived...

He watched as Kakashi tried to twist his bunshin around into arm arm-lock, but it was putting up a pretty good fight; violently elbowing him up under his stupid mysterious chin, ha!

Deidara must have been crazy to have liked this guy, even momentarily, this idiot who was fooled by such an elementary level jutsu! God it was soo funny. But, he knew he couldn't stick around to watch for long. Escape. Get clay. Kill everyone _later_. That was his priority.

Kakashi was winning quickly against his bunshin now, pinning it down. Deidara sucked at close combat. Deidara knew he should get of here now before he realised, but he wanted to watch Kakashi struggle around like a dumbass for just one more second; look at him one more time...

An arm locked tightly around his neck. "A bunshin distraction works better if you don't linger around, you know." Kakashi grabbed his right arm and twisted it behind him, causing him to drop his kunai. Deidara yelped in surprise as he saw both of the bunshin's vanish; damn it, he'd been caught out!

"I just got away, un!" he growled, trying awkwardly, unsuccessfully, to kick at him. "Fuck's sake Kakashi! Let me go!"

"You know I won't." Kakashi's voice was frustratingly relaxed behind him."Come on now, we both know you can't escape. You're by no means 'weak', but you're too burnt out to do anything right now. You're still coming to Konoha." Kakashi pressed him against up the tree, shifting around, he meant to try and tie Deidara's arms.

Kakashi's grip was like iron. Not this again! Even if Deidara's body had been working at full capacity, he would have been no match. He was smaller, weaker, his close combat skills were average at best._ Ok, fine. So they were utter shit_. He'd always been too arrogant to work on them; dismissed them as something he would never need to use; yet again, he was paying for it.

"So, I see you have your arms back; the Akatsuki have that capability?"

Kakashi was barely even exerting himself, and making chit-chat already, _Arrrgh! Why did Kakashi have to be so cool about everything! Deidara understood Gai's frustration at Kakashi's laid-back attitude (ugh, he understood Gai now?)  
_

_But still, why did he have to be so weak against him! _Deidara brought up his left hand to the arm Kakashi had fastened around his neck. He opened it's mouth as wide as he could, and clamped down on Kakashi's arm, hard.

Kakashi made a pained sound and his grip loosened, he hadn't been expecting that. Deidara tasted blood in his hand's mouth... he used all his strength to break away but only managed to get a few feet before Kakashi swept a leg under him, sending him crashing to the ground. Kakashi went to stoop over him but Deidara brought a foot up, hard, into Kakashi's groin. Doing that, it felt way more satisfying than it probably should have - _Reject me, huh?_

_"__Oomph"_ Kakashi grimaced but recovered himself, visible eye was squinting with pain; he kept walking toward Deidara, who was backing away still. Deidara felt too fatigued and out of practice, he couldn't keep this up. He had such little usable chakra, he'd spent years honing it for his art, for the specific creation of bombs, although it channeled it through his body; without clay he couldn't even make proper use of most of it!

Deidara saw where his kunai had dropped and made a dive across to grab it, but Kakashi's foot came down hard on his arm. Despite his kicking, Kakashi managed to pin Deidara to the ground, a foot crushing his recovering arm, a knee in his back and a hand keeping his head still, by the hair. His hair was not a fucking handle! Why always his hair!

"ARRGHH!" Deidara howled, thrashing madly in frustration. "Fucking get off! Get the hell off, un!"

"No."

Kakashi had not even used any jutsu's. He was going easy on him. All of this, and it was like Kakashi was just playing with him; he was no match.

"I'm glad I was the one to find you," Kakashi was saying,"There are others out here looking to kill you. In your condition...it might not have ended well."

Deidara turned his face into the ground. He remembered how they had fought before, before all this, before everything had gone so bad for him. He'd been strong, had the upper hand even!

Kakashi had fought to his fullest, even had pulled out that sharingan-vortex-making-thing! Surely it was one of, if not _the_ most powerful attack Kakashi had. He'd been visibly drained afterwards, after using it. When Deidara had been captured; Kakashi had just overseen everything whilst leaning against a tree for support, exhausted. But Deidara, he hadn't even needed to use anything higher than his C2! Or at least, he'd felt he hadn't needed to. Perhaps he should have, earlier? He shouldn't have underestimated them... maybe had he used his more powerful techniques earlier, none of this would have even happened.

But, at least then, Deidara hadn't even felt like an equal with them, he'd felt superior! They had been a mutual threat to each other, Kakashi viewed him as something dangerous, something worthy of fearing...

But now, it was like this. And Kakashi had seen him at his lowest, had comforted him like a child and held his hair back while he was sick. And...that humiliating rejection. He just thought Deidara was some stupid confused kid! How could he keep up his bravado, knowing that Kakashi had seen him like that. How could Kakashi respect him? He wanted his respect, not his pity.

He hated the feel Kakasi's weight on his back, oppressing him. He wanted it to be the other way around. Kakashi should get a taste of how this felt, to be so helpless - barely even able to move...he had no idea!

Deidara made a miserable sound into the ground_. Enough of this._

"Don't be like that Deidara, please."

"Just let me go, un." He just wanted to be as far away from Kakashi as possible.

"I'm sorry that I have to do this..." Deidara strained to look behind him. _This?_

Kakashi had lifted his forehead protector up, revealing the sharingan. His stomach twisted at the sight of it, the last time he'd seen it, it had been used to take his arm off! and it was reminding him again, of that first time he'd ever been defeated, one of the first of so many humiliations in his life now.

"I probably should have done this at the beginning..."

_"_Done what?_ What does that mean, un?"_ he hissed. Did Kakashi mean to use his sharingan to sever his arms again? He couldn't handle it! "No! Not that, un! Don't - "

Kakashi said nothing to him now, he was trying to turn Deidara over. Deidara struggled hard, but it was no good. "Kakashi, un, not that, please..."

"I'm sorry."

"Just tie them, I'll stop struggling, just don't make me like that again, un," Deidara grew still. If his arms were severed again, Deidara felt that he wouldn't be able to take it!

Kakashi twisted Deidara around to face him. Kakashi was just too strong, He was even able to pin both of his wrists with just one hand. It was hopeless, Deidara could only glare up at Kakashi, angry; miserable.

"It's only a genjutsu...so you can sleep until we reach Konoha, that would probably be better for you."

Deidara tried to turn his face away, but Kakashi took hold of his chin and made Deidara face him. "I'll make it something good, I promise, something with flying..."

Deidara closed his right eye.

His fighting spirit flickered back within him, filled him with hope. He_ could _compete with Kakashi.

He had trained for this specifically so that he could beat Itachi; he'd never have predicted how useful it could come in at another moment. Deidara could resist the average genjutsu easily enough, but the one that bastard Itachi had used on him, long ago now, had been too overwhelming; because it was boosted by the power of the sharingan. The sharingan, it had enthralled him, although he would never say it. His left eye; it couldn't resist a sharingan powered genjutsu, but it could _break_ from it.

Suddenly it seemed like there was nothing else but Kakashi's sharingan bearing down on him. His gaze was dizzying, that endless black wheel, it was too beautiful... He felt so drowsy, he was going. Kakashi faded away above him.

_Deidara was his old self again, he sat on one of his clay creations, soaring high, alone, with the sky all to himself. He took a handful of clay and felt it, testing the texture between his fingers for a bit before swallowing. His body tingled a bit as he mixed the clay with his chakra, and opening his hand, a butterfly rested there. He set it free, watching it flutter against the strong wind, struggling, trying, before it died in a vivid explosion of blue and green, beautiful._

_The way it had strived against the wind, fighting it's fate before it exploded forever; that had been beautiful too. Why had he never noticed before? That will, it was art, just as the explosion; undoubtedly still the best part; just as the explosion that ended it's life had been art. And realising this, it just increased his appreciation of it ten-fold; enriched it. He felt moved, felt...  
_

_Inspired.  
_

_He stayed there a moment, enjoying the feeling of the wind in his hair and clothes.  
_

_Deidara was fully aware this wasn't real. And because he was aware of that, it meant he could break from it whenever he chose. But he couldn't do it just yet. It was too good, being like this._

_But his real body was still captive right now, it was going to end up imprisoned in Konoha. It was likely to die before he could ever do this again. If he ever wanted to secure this feeling again for real..._

Deidara was brought back down to his uncomfortable position on the forest floor.

Kakashi had released his wrists when he felt Deidara become lax. Deidara had returned to himself, but still pretended to be under the influence of the genjutsu. He stared up vacantly, but in reality, was concentrating hard. He couldn't allow the slightest flicker of his eyes to give him away. He waited for his chance...

Kakashi did not move off of him right away. He just...looked at his face for a little while. It was hard to tell, but; was Kakashi smiling, under his mask? It wasn't a victorious smile, but something almost...he didn't know, didn't recognise it. It just wasn't victorious, it was some other kind of thing.

Was he thinking that Deidara was happy in the genjutsu he'd designed for him? Something about that made Deidara feel funny. Sort of glad...

There was a swish and a crack in the air, then Kakashi fell forward on top of him with a heavy thud; he was knocked out cold. Deidara looked up, shocked.

That laugh.

Hidan had whacked Kakashi around the head with the back of his sythe.

"Pffft, so I'm rescuing you again blondie, you sure need it today don't you?"

"Hidan! You bastard! I had everything under control, un."

"Didn't look like it to me! Maybe you were to thick to notice, but you were under his genjutsu just now dumbass."

Deidara had kept it a secret. That he trained himself to break a sharingan users genjutsu. No one knew about it except him, because if it had ever got back to Itachi, he would have lost his advantage...

"Uggh, was I, un?" Deidara asked owlishly, belatedly - but Hidan was too stupid to notice his slip-up.

Hidan walked up and kicked Kakashi over, off of Deidara. Deidara tried not to flinch.

"Anyway, I think he's gay for you or something. The way he was looking at you while you were out of it Deidara-chan; seriously, I think the problem is all your hair. I keep telling you to cut that shit off, you look like a girl! I'll do it for you if you want." Hidan held up his sythe, grinning.

Deidara looked down at Kakashi. _Oh my God. _Blood was coming out of his ear, did Hidan kill him? No, he was breathing.

"Did he damage your brain or something? You normally wanna strangle me when I call you a girl! Hey girly-face, get mad!"

Deidara slowly got up to his feet. _What now? What the hell now? He was free, yeah? That was what he wanted, wasn't it, to get away from Kakashi, to kill Kakashi.._.

He delivered a swift kick to Hidan's backside, causing the idiot to stumble. "That one's just for dropping me earlier, un!" Later, he would additionally make Hidan pay for nearly castrating him, for calling him a girl, for _all_ of the shit he'd said,

_And, most of all, for 'rescuing' him just now..._

Hidan rubbed at where he'd been kicked, smiling. "Got any more to give me, Dei-chan?" How could Deidara get back at a guy who enjoyed pain? it was infuriating...

Hidan stood over Kakashi. "Hm, he's still alive. BORING fight, would've expected from the great copy-nin or whatever-the-shit he was," Hidan laughed. "No match for my genius tactics though!"

"What do you mean, 'Genius tactics_?'_ You only hit him in the head with a fucking stick un!" _Hidan, so stupid, he was nowhere near Kakashi's level, nowhere near his level that he should deserve to gloat like this! He'd only got lucky because Kakashi had been distracted. Kakashi, who never got distracted. And Kakashi had been distracted because...  
_

"You're just jealous 'cause you couldn't do it! But it's ok, maybe him sitting on you reminded you of getting raped or something," He hooked an arm around Deidara's neck, yanking him close, into his chest. "There, there." he said with mock kindness, "Hidan will look after you now."

_"RAAagh!!_" With some difficulty, Deidara shoved him away, eyes blazing. "_IF I HAD MY CLAY RIGHT NOW UN,_" he paused, panting, clenched his fists tightly. Hidan was too much, he was just_ too_ much. "I will murder you, un. Seriously. If you talk about that one more time, un. Blow you UP. There'll be a million pieces of you, Kakuzu would never stitch you back together, not if he sewed his whole immortal life, un."

"Yeah, yeah, you can kill me all you want later, it'll be fun." Hidan took out his amulet and brought it to his lips. He closed his eyes and began to pray. The hell? That guy could go from loud to quiet so fast.

"Why are you doing that, un?" _Wait..._

"I always pray to Lord Jashin before I kill, Deidara-chan."

-------------------------------------------------------------------

TBC

--------------------------------------------------------------------

**_OMAKE thingies  
_**

--------------------------------------------------------------------

"Trust me." smiled Hidan carelessly.

"TRUST YOU! are you crazy, un?!"

Hidan yawned, and with one hand, idly swiped across his sythe.

_Deidara actually screamed._

"Oops."

**"AAAAAAAAAAAaaaaRRRRRRrR!!1MOTHERF**CKINGC**T!!!1, YOU CUT IT OFF!**** YOU ACTUALLY CUT IT OFF, UN!"****  
**

"Uh, fuck. Look, don't worry, it'll grow back..."

"Yeah but not for ages, un!" Deidara looked sadly down at his severed hair, the soft golden strands strewn across the ground, wafting away serenly in the gentle breeze, gone forever~(_noooooes!_ D:)

"...It's not like I cut off your dick or something."

------------------------------------------------------------------------

~~**~~HiDan's baBy-siTting seRviCe~~**~~

_- Caring_

_- Kind_

_- Compassionate_

_- Responsible_

Feel at ease knowing your little ones are in the best of care!

_~Totally approved by Lord Jashin~_

_~Survival rate is now approximately 1 out of every 500!~_

~CALL HIDAN on 00845ILOVETORTURE

IF A GUY CALLED KAKUZU ANSWERS THE PHONE TELL HIM HE'S C**KSUCKER AHAHA

--------------------------------------------------------------------

Deidara watched as Kakashi tried to twist his bunshin around into arm-lock...it was...kinda hot.

**(It was so tempting to actually write that.)**

-------------------------------------------------------------------

Crossover:

"I can't believe you lost your arm _again_! Seriously, you are terrible!"

Winry set her mechanics bag down next to Deidara and brought out an automail arm.

".....what the fuck, un."

Winry froze and peered closely at his face. "...Oh my God! You aren't him, my mistake..."

_(Fullmetal!Deidara Elric :D_)

--------------------------------------------------------------------

Notes.

Sorry for taking crazy maniac Deidara and making him all good-guy and romantic there, (_wahh romance! wah *rolls around on the floor squeeing and fangirling in an undignified manner*_) but my fic = my wish fufillments, bwahaha. Ahem.

I now feel compelled to write a HidaDei smut fic...or even KakuHidaDei o___0 yesss.

Um, about the 'worse version of chapter 3'. Since it keeps coming up. Too many people keep asking about this lol, with ffnet readers being strangely more perverted than those at affnet (weird.)

I thought that the existing chapter 3 was bad enough, I thought everyone would hate it. Instead of flaming me, way too many people express interest in the 'worse' version - YOU GUYS ARE ALL EVIL! OK, so I'm secretly relieved that people are as evil and perverted as I am, glad even, ahhh. Anyway, that version is gone, doesn't exist. I'm sorry for even eluding to it's existence. I only mentioned that this version was better than the old version because I thought people would be GLAD at Dei not being treated as cruelly. So that you know, it was only about 300 extra words in which the men took turns with Deidara, it was much too scary (for me) and lacking in subtley. I felt like a very bad person writing it. *hides in a corner* That's all it was.

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Next chapter is in progress. Will take a bit longer than previous ones

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	7. Memory

Long chapter, about 7,900 words without feed-backs :D (so many reviews last chapter! Thanks so much for all the reviews, it really inspires me to write better :3)

**Warning: **There is noncon, again (slightly graphic) and also something really evil revealed (non graphic but bad). Bad Inner-Sera, very bad! God. I apologise in advance for this chapter. It's really evil (to me) But, without hurt, there can be no comfort. The greater the hurt, the sweeter the comfort....at least, I keep telling myself that 0_0

---------------------------------------

"I always pray before I kill, Deidara-chan."

Hidan wanted to use Kakashi as a sacrifice?

They stood there, Hidan taking his tedious long time to pray while Deidara just stared at him. His heart was still pounding, it was still only just sinking in that he'd managed to get away; that he wasn't in danger anymore.

But if he wasn't in danger anymore, then why did he still feel afraid?

Kakashi had been trying to take Deidara to Konoha just now; somewhere he'd have been killed. So, really, he could have died. Only, he _wouldn't,_ because if fucking Hidan hadn't shown up he would have made his own get-away without any help!

There was no reason for any of this to be confusing. It was very simple, he hated Kakashi, and wanted him dead. Kakashi hated him, and wanted him interrogated and then dead. If Hidan had not appeared...

If Hidan hadn't shown up, he could have reached for that kunai on the ground. Stabbed Kakashi in the neck whilst he was distracted. It would have been his only way out, and he would have taken it! That he hadn't done it right away, well, that was because he'd just been waiting for the right moment!

_"Yeah,_ here we go! Got another one for you Lord Jashin!"

Hidan had finished his praying and, stepping up to Kakashi, swiped his scythe across his cheek; leaving a thin tear in his mask.

For some reason, it made Deidara _furious_.

"Hey Hidan, un!"

"Hm, what?" asked Hidan, pausing.

"Don't do it." Who the hell was Hidan to kill Kakashi? Like he deserved to do it, like he had a right to him just because he 'beat' him in such a lame way! It was like when the Leaf-ninjas caught Deidara because he'd fainted. It pissed him off.

If anyone was going to kill Kakashi, it should be Deidara. He'd given him enough grief over the last few days! He'd cost him his arm, seen him weak, made him endure humiliation after humiliation. Made him feel so low... If Kakashi died by Hidan's hand now, then he'd never get him back for any of it! He'd never get to justify any of it!

"The fuck? Why not?"

"I should get to kill him, un!" Deidara shouted. "You don't know how much I hate this guy!"

"Ha! Are you kidding? He's mine, and you can't stop me." Hidan looked him up and down and sneered. "I'd like to see you try."

_ARRRGH!_ _Deidara had never wanted his clay so badly! Never wanted it more than he did at this very moment!_

Deidara aimed a swift kick to Hidan's chest, and Hidan happily just stood there and accepted it.

"Ahh, that was nice. Make the next one a little lower?"

Deidara shrieked and pulled on his own hair in frustration. HE HATED HIDAN SO MUCH!

Hidan had to lean on his scythe again from laughing. "You're so funny when you're mad Dei-chan! Really, it's fucking _adorable. _You're probably my favourite after Kakuzu - haha don't tell the others, or they'll get jealous!"

_The hell did he mean? The others hated his guts as well._

"How about this - I'll let you torture him for a bit before I sacrifice him. Sound fair? We'll tie him up, make him wake up first. It'll be fun!"

WHAT.

That was Hidan's thing, not his! Hidan would slowly draw out his victims death for as long as he could; for as long as Kakuzu had patience. Just lie in his crappily-drawn circle and then stab them over and over; until, finally, deciding to go for the vitals. And there was no Kakuzu here to stop him now. Hidan could make his ritual last for hours...

_But death should be fast. Violent but fast. Fleeting..._

"No, un." Deidara wouldn't change his mind. "You let me kill him. _Now._"

Hidan raised his scythe to his mouth and swept his tongue along the blood there. "No."

"ARGH!" Deidara grabbed onto his scythe with both hands and tried to wrench it away from him, Hidan would not stop his laughing!

_"What are you two squabbling about now?"_

"Hey Kaku-chan!" Hidan kneed Deidara hard in the stomach, making him fall to the ground. _Ow, ow, shit!_ Ignoring him now, Hidan waved at Kakuzu. "You're late. Look who I caught!" he pointed victoriously at Kakashi.

"You weren't seriously about to use him for your sacrifice were you?" Sighed Kakuzu. "Idiot. He's a sharingan bearer, and we have him captive. He's worth money."

"'We'? I think you mean me, you weren't even here! You should have seen the battle we had! He was no match for me!"

"Y-You call _that_ a fight, un?" Deidara managed to stand up, holding his stomach. _That was it! That was the last straw. If even fucking Hidan could beat him, that meant he needed to practice his taijutsu. He'd do one hundred kicks a day or whatever it was that that Lee kid did to be so good at it. Or, used to be so good at it, if he really had died back there..._

"So stupid. We can collect a huge bounty on that sharingan of his alone."

"But I was all ready!" Hidan whined,"You keep stopping me, last time too! You said I could have the next one! Remember? You _owe_ me."

Kakuzu sighed, massaged his temples. "I believe, if we extract the sharingan eye while he's still alive, and then store it; it will still work."

"Kakuzu...?" Hidan asked hopefully, sweetly, like a fucking _kid._

"...and then as long as he's still recognisable when you're done with him, we can still turn in his body for the bounty."

Hidan whooped for joy. "Kakuzu-chan! You're not such a bastard all of the time!" He tried to hug Kakuzu.

"Stupid pest, don't even think about it." Kakuzu stepped back. After a thought, he added, "Hug Deidara."

Hidan did. "Get the fuck off me, un!" This _sucked_, they were both bullying him now! Kakuzu even allowed himself a small snigger.

"Hurry up and get his eye so I can start then!" Said Hidan impatiently.

"_You're_ telling _me_ to hurry?" Growled Kakuzu as he pulled a jar from his coat. He knelt down beside Kakashi, set down his briefcase.

Deidara couldn't fight them, he could see he wouldn't stand a chance.

This was best. This was best for Deidara, he should be glad.

He didn't want to help Kakashi. He didn't want Kakashi to live.

He turned away.

_But he just didn't want to watch Kakuzu and Hidan kill him either._

"Where are you goin', Dei?"

"Nowhere, un!" he snapped. "I just..." he could not think of a reason. He didn't really have one.

_Just don't want to watch. Just don't want to be here._

"Ohhhhhh." Hidan winked at him, knowingly. "Couldn't use your hands for a few days... that would drive any guy crazy. Especially if you're used to having _those_. Yeah, I understand. You go off and have a wank."

"That's not why, un!" _Hidan and his stupid perverted mind!_ (_That, and Deidara had already taken care of that matter as soon as he'd left them earlier anyway..._)

"The hell! Don't look at me all chaste like that, hahaha _seriously_, who the hell are you kidding. Haha. Off you go, and I don't wanna hear you."

_"Kids," _Kakuzu sounded disgusted. He turned back to Kakashi, pulled up his forehead protector...

_"Stop what you are doing."_

It was the Leader.

Deidara looked down at his hand, at at the blue jewel on his finger. He had his Akatsuki ring back- and that meant the Leader could communicate with him again. He'd thought the message was directed only at him at first, but turning around, he saw that Kakuzu and Hidan were evidently receiving the same message too.

"What is it?" asked Kakuzu.

_"The copy-nin, Kakashi Hatake. Zetsu tells me you have him."_

They all looked around. Deidara couldn't see Zetsu anywhere, was he still be watching them right now? _And how long had that sneaky guy been watching for? _Deidara felt a chill. Had Zetsu watched _everything?_ Had Zetsu seen, when Kakashi cast his genjutsu...

What was Deidara worried about? All Zetsu would have seen was Kakashi casting a genjutsu on Deidara, and Deidara attempting to get away. It wasn't like he was betraying Akatsuki or had anything to hide.

_So how come he felt like he had something to hide?_

"Yes, we have him."

_"Is he secure?"_

"He's unconcious."

_"Secure him and then all of you come are to come straight to the assembly. We need to discuss recent developments."_

"For fucks sake, and I was all ready!"wailed Hidan, stamping the ground.

Kakuzu used his threads to tie Kakashi. His threads were stronger than chains, only a tool infused with chakra would be able to break them; Kakashi would never struggle free. He bound Kakashi's arms behind his back, and then his legs similar to the way Deidara had been tied. He even bound Kakashi's fingers into his palms to prevent the use of jutsu's. Kakashi gave no sign of movement once; _Hidan must have hit him pretty hard._

_"Hurry up. We're just waiting for you now."_

Deidara settled on the ground and started the jutsu first. It was a habit he'd picked up from Master Sasori; when the leader called a meeting, they were often the first partners there. Sasori hated to keep people waiting.

With Kakashi secured, Kakuzu and Hidan were beginning the jutsu too now.

Deidara looked at Kakashi,_ I guess this means you still have a little time left. But that may or may not be a good thing for you. _What did the Leader want? He closed his eyes and sent his mind out to the meeting.

For the first time in what felt like a long time, he was standing amongst the other members of Akatsuki once more. They were all there. Well, with the exception of one...

Zetsu looked him up and down. _"You're not presentable," s_aid his white half.

Not a '_Hello_,' or a, _'Oh hey Deidara, glad you aren't dead!' _

...Wait, why the fuck would he expect that? They were Akatsuki, not pansy-ass leaf nin.

_Not presentable. _Deidara looked down at himself. Even though the cave was dark, and they only appeared to eachother as shadow-like holograms; some detail could still be seen. He was missing his coat and his underclothes were ripped and bloodstained. His hair, loose ever since _then_, was a mess once again; although it was actually more of a result from being carried by Hurricane Hidan than from his tousle with Kakashi.

Akatsuki were really big on appearance, not that Deidara minded; he liked the style. He agreed, it was important to keep a cool appearance at all times; but they were so fucking _fussy_ and nit-picky. They had even noticed when Kisame forgot to paint a toenail once.

"Where's your coat?" Asked the Leader.

_Huh? As if he didn't know!_

"I didn't collect a new one yet..."

"And you are missing your old one, because?"

Deidara cringed. _Here we go._ "Because I got captured by Leaf-ninja." He grit the words out. "And, they took it away, un."

**"That was foolish"**, said black Zetsu.

Hidan sniggered, he was enjoying this - he was _loving_ it.

Deidara felt stupid, being admonished like this by the Leader, and in front of the other members! Although Hidan drove him crazy, he felt more embarrassed by the fact the others were seeing this. He had some respect for them, and had liked to think that he held some of respect for him in turn. Well, except for Itachi of course.

_Itachi was seeing all of this_. Deidara couldn't stand it. Sharingan-bastard-Itachi stood there; unmoving, completely silent as usual. All reserved and composed, like he was so perfect! It wasn't like Itachi hadn't fucked up a few times too; he still hadn't managed to bring back _his_ target the kyuubi yet; he'd failed every time! Ha!

But, still, no member of Akatsuki had ever been captured by the enemy before. He'd really messed up. They must all think he was so weak...

He found himself looking across the cave, at the left thumb of the statue. Sasori's position. No one stood there now.

Deidara felt glad that Master Sasori wasn't seeing him like this. Sasori's opinion of him was one that he'd actually highly valued, as much as he'd often disagree with it.

"..._and _you spent time in the Sand Village as well, according to Zetsu. But, you didn't tell either Village anything of us? Willingly or not?"

"No, un."

"I believe you."

_Pfft, it couldn't be that. The Leader had to have already known for a fact somehow. This whole talk was unnecessary, as the Leader already seemed to be well informed. It was all just intended to embarrass him in front of the others; a sort of punishment, an example to the rest. _

"Now, do not let this happen again."

"It won't happen again, un." _Never!_

"I mean it. I will not send rescue a second time. If this happens again, any members I send will be to kill you. We can't have our secrets leaked."

_Okay, okay, he got it! Shut up now. Just shut up._

Finally, the leader changed the subject.

"Now the matter of the Copy-nin, Kakashi Hatake. We can use him to our advantage. We can use him to lure the Kyuubi into a trap."

"But the Kyuubi is Itachi-sans target," said Kisame. "Is this alright with you Itachi-san?"

Itachi didn't say anything.

"The Kyuubi is the most powerful Biju and we are running out of time. We need extra methods of capture. He is always with allies; if we tell him to meet us alone, with the threat of killing his sensei if he does not; then we stand a greater chance of capturing him."

_So, he wanted them to use Kakashi as a hostage. The plan did make sense._

"Kakuzu, you and Hidan are to keep Kakashi Hatake secure, somewhere safe, and wait for further instructions from me. Keep Deidara with you too for now, as he is not ready to fight again yet, and there are some groups of Konoha ninja currently roaming near your area. They may be targeting him specifically. Watch our for them."

Others nearby? Kakashi had mentioned to him that there were 'others' around, trying to kill him. He guessed it had to be Gai and their students; whoever was still alright after the fights with Kakuzu and Hidan. Would they all just chase him forever?

"Hey, how come you're talking to Kakuzu about it when _I'm_ the one who caught him?" complained Hidan. "_I _beat him in a fight! ME!"

_Ugh, Hidan was not letting that go._ "You only snuck up and hit in the head whilst he was casting a genjutsu, un." Said Deidara, "But I guess that's a pretty big deal for you." He smiled, "The closest you'll ever get to being able to say you beat someone like him, un."

Zetsu and Kisame laughed.

Hidan looked really pissed off. Ha, good.

"I just remembered something." Hidan smiled nastily,"Hear this! It's tooo funny--"

_OH NO HE WOULDN'T. HE WOULDN'T!_

"Hidan, un--!"

"...Deidara-chan got _**it** _up **_there_** while they had him at the Sand prison!"

_No. Way. NO...  
_

Deidara began to leave, he wanted out of the assembly. He was leaving right now and he was going to strangle Hidan whilst he was still meditating. Or something. He would find a way to make him dead and _stay_ dead. And then he would NEVER come to the assembly again, he would never, _ever_ look any of them in the face again!

"Deidara, don't you dare leave. I haven't dismissed you yet."

_Uggh_. He stayed. He had no choice. Glaring forward, he prepared to meet the onslaught of mockery.

There was an uncomfortable silence in the cave. The leader was staring at him, motionless. Kisame and Itachi looked at each other, and no one else did anything. What were they thinking?

Kisame turned toward Deidara."But, you're alright now?" he asked.

_What?_

"...Yeah, un."

_No, wait, shit._

"--but, nothing happened, un." he added hastily. _Oh fuck_. "Hidan's full of crap, you know that..." _  
_

"It is unfortunate to hear of." said Itachi quietly, "That form of torture, it is beneath shinobi."

Itachi, he thought that it was unfortunate?_ Oh yeah. Really. Don't make fun of me bastard, I know you must think it's funny..._It _was_ strange though, hearing that. Hearing that from the guy who had massacred his entire family.

_"These things happen,"_ said Zetsu's white half,

**"It's not uncommon in times like these, even with men..." **added the black.

Kakuzu spoke,"No, even in the older days, it would happen. It's just rarely spoken of."

**"Hm,"**

"With the way the Fourth Kazekage had that place run, it's incredible you even got out of there,"

"But isn't it _funny!"_

"Hidan!" snapped the leader, angered. "Show more respect for your teammate, he did not betray us under duress. Don't speak of this again! Not in here, nor outside of here!"

**"Idiot."**

"Can't you shut your zombie-brother up a little, I get a headache."

_"_I try_. _But it's like dealing with a child_."_**  
**

"Fine," growled Hidan, "but you guys are all humourless shits."

It already seemed to be forgotten. None of them even cared...it wasn't a big deal. Actually Hidan had made himself look quite stupid, worse than Deidara - not that it was hard for Hidan to do that.

Being berated for his capture had actually been more embarrassing than having the others hear of the Sand Village incident. And they weren't making him feel stupid, weren't treating him like he was weaker because of it...they just treated him pretty much the same as they always did. They all thought that Hidan was immature. Had Deidara been immature, to think that they would laugh at him?

"Dismissed."

"Finally!" shouted Hidan. He disappeared with a flicker. The others followed suit. Deidara was about to leave as well, when the leader stopped him again.

"Stay. We have one more thing to talk about before you go, Deidara."

_More fucking lecturing._

He waited to hear it. Only he, the Leader and Zetsu were left.

_"We found Sasori's body,"_ said white Zetsu _"and it looks like he had resorted to using his true form."_

**"He died wearing it. We were surprised by it."**

Master Sasori's true form. Deidara had seen it. On rare occasions, when things were more peaceful; sometimes Sasori would go without Hiruko, his exterior disguise and allow Deidara to see his real body.

So Master Sasori had shown his real body to others, _and enemies at that_, before he died? For some reason it made him feel a little jealous. He'd liked that he was one of the select few; in fact, the only person that he knew of that Sasori would allow to see him. Why had he chosen to do that when he died?

_Why had Master Sasori been so stupid to expose his weak point to others?_

"And, what does that have to do with me, un?"

_"Just thought you'd want to know about how he died."_

"I know you think we are just being vain about the uniform," said the Leader. "But the main reason we wear it, is to symbolise our detachment from the rest of the world - our solidarity as one group; one cause. When you join Akatsuki, no matter the circumstances; you throw yourself away and become our cause. It's a disguise. Do not ever let your enemies see through it, do not let them see any intention that is not Akatsuki, or you'll appear weak. You'll become weak, and you'll be killed, like Sasori was."

"Why are you telling me this, un." _What was he hinting at?_ "You know how I feel about Akatsuki, and you know I always do my job, un."

"I know, and I'm pleased with the successful capture and extraction of Shukaku. Your new mission is to help target the Kyuubi." The leader paused before adding, "Once the Copy-nin is no longer needed, you can be the one to end him."

_Just like he wanted...  
_

**"Is that a problem?"** Zetsu watched his face.

"Ha. No. No, it's not a problem, un. I'll do it. I wanted to get even with him anyway, un."

The Leader seemed satisfied. "You can go now."

Deidara felt a sudden strange pull. Something tugging at his consciousness, it was very distracting...ow_, **OW**. What the hell was that?_

_"**When that happens, it means your body is being tampered with**,"_ Black Zetsu noted the look of horrified panic on Deidara's face and then the white added_, "It's ok, I think it's just Hidan trying to braid weeds into your hair."_

"WHAAT!"

He flickered out.

------------------------------------------------------------------------

"There was a fight here recently."

Shikumaru knelt on the ground, examined the forest floor. Naruto was with him.

"Yeah, you're right! Blood..."

Shikumaru wasn't a tracker, but the area of flattened grass and crushed leaves had caught his eye; and then on closer inspection, the drops of blood.

"Whose is this?" He lifted a very long, blond strand of hair from the ground.

"That looks a lot like Deidara's."

"Hmm."

"Do you think one of the others found him already?"

"If they did, then they would have contacted us on their mics..." Shikumaru tried the dial on the one around his neck. Set it to talk to Gai and Izumo.

"Shikumaru? What is it, have you found them?"

"No, but we found-"

"Hey Sensei?" Naruto was trying his. "Have you found them yet, because we found this place that looks like there was a fight.... Kakashi-sensei? Helloooo?.............KAKASHI-SENSEI!" He turned to Shikumaru. "Hey, my one's not working properly..."

------------------------------------------------------------------------

They had found another cave to settle in. Kakashi was still unconcious, propped up against the wall. More of Kakuzu's ties fastened him to strong tree roots that ran through the cave.

Deidara sat grumpily across from him, legs drawn up, just listening to what Kakuzu and Hidan were saying. He was still picking weeds out of his hair.

"Hidan, you go find them. You should take something with you to prove we have him."

"An eye? His nose? A finger?"

"No. We aren't to tamper with him."

"Haha, I know. A weapon, then?"

"We should keep those." Kakuzu rummaged through the pile of things that he'd taken off of kakashi. Shuriken, a communication device he'd crushed, a pervy book... "This will do."

_"Make out paradise?" _Hidan flipped through it and grinned. "Haha, a pervy book. So this is what the great Copy-nin reads...ha." He paused on a page, reading it, "_Sooo _soft-core, there's no guts or anything..."

_Eww._ _What he fuck did Hidan read?_

"Just take it. Find some Leaf-ninja's and relay the message that Akatsuki have Kakashi Hatake, and that if they want him back alive, the Kyuubi has to meet with Akatsuki near the corner border of the river and fire country tomorrow, alone. Do not give away where we are actually holding him."

"Why doesn't Zetsu just relay the message?"

"Because shut up."

Hidan glared at him and then left, still leafing through the book.

After Kakuzu was sure that Hidan was gone, he spoke to Deidara. "I'll be gone about an hour, you stay here."

"Huh? Where are you going, un?"

"Bounty hunting in the area. There's an opportunity I don't want to miss out on. You just stay here, good and quiet; _and don't kill him."_

"Pfft, leaving me alone with fuck-all to do, un."

"I'll be back later," Kakuzu picked up his briefcase and left as well, leaving Deidara alone with Kakashi.

Bastards gave him the dullest job. Deidara sat there and stared at Kakashi thoughtfully.

What was with that genjutsu earlier? He couldn't stop thinking about it. Kakashi could have made it anything, so why something good, if they were enemies? There was no reason for him to keep up the kindness act with Deidara. No reason to make him easier to handle while dragging him back to Konoha; not if Deidara would have been unconscious. So why bother with a genjutsu Deidara would like? It made no sense.

Would he even wake up at all? What if he was in a coma or something from being hit too hard! Deidara had heard of it happening. Killing a guy who was asleep; that would be no way to prove his superiority to him!

"Hey," that familiar, casual voice._.._

Kakashi was awake! He was squinting at him from across the cave, just woken up...he was OK!

Kakashi was looking at him. "Hey, Deidara." He said calmly.

_....'Hey Deidara?' Was that that all he had to say? What about, 'Why the hell am I tied up?' and the classic, 'Let me go'?  
_

Him and his_ fucking composure_! It reminded him of Itachi! Was it some sharingan bearer thing? Thinking of Itachi, his fucking sharingan, it was just making Deidara feel more pissed off!

Did Kakashi_ ever _lose his composure?

"Don't '_Hey~_' me, all sweet like that!" He growled, "You're my prisoner now! The tables have fucking turned now, you bastard, un!"

"Oh. Sorry." said Kakashi apologetically. "Good to see you fiesty again; I worried you'd given up for a while back there."

_He was talking about 'back there.' So he remembered. Remembered how Deidara had pleaded with him, so pathetically like that in the dirt._

Deidara's face grew red, "Don't think that I was scared or anything! And I was about to win! I was just waiting for a good moment, un!"

Even to him, it did sound ridiculous. An obviously desperate cover-up. Kakashi said nothing, knowing that what he'd just said was too stupid to even justify a reply.

_He clenched his hands. Whatever. Kakashi was the one who was at a disadvantage now, by far the weaker of the two. He'd show him what it was like..._

_He'd make him lose his cool...  
_

------------------------------------------------------------------------

"Come on, let's see you get...a little scared un." Deidara crept closer to Kakashi; strangely cautious of a man who was completely bound.

Deidara was playing tough-guy again, but his nervous body language betrayed him, as usual. He was so easy to read. When Kakashi had woken to see Deidara sat there, arms wrapped around himself, he could not have looked more lost.

Then again, Kakashi felt quite lost himself. Where was he now? He could see they were in a shallow cave somewhere, low evening light reflected off the wall from the entrance.

He could remember that he cast a genjutsu on Deidara, but then nothing else after that. The back of his head throbbed painfully, an obvious clue to as to why he might have lost consciousness. Straining, Kakashi looked down at himself, the rope ties practically cut into him, they were tough as wire; the feel reminded him of the strange tentacles Kakuzu had wrapped around his neck during their earlier fight. He could not make it out in the dim light, but he supposed that his ties were indeed those tentacles - it was likely that Kakuzu and Hidan were nearby. They must have returned for Deidara; and then caught him off guard. Why hadn't Akatsuki killed him yet? Was he a hostage? He tried to move around, but his ties were also secured around strong tree roots behind him.

Neji had needed to charge chakra into the tentacle ropes to free his neck earlier, he knew he couldn't break from these ties without help.

Gai, Asuma, the others; they were still out there. They would eventually realise he was missing. Rescuing him would not be difficult, not if the only one who continued to guard him was Deidara. Deidara had barely been able to do anything against him in his weak state, and would be no match at all if the others appeared.

"And, what am I supposed to be scared of?" He knew, but he couldn't help it. He knew Deidara wanted Kakashi to fear him. He had to be desperate for a boost to his wounded ego after everything he'd been through. But feeding it could only make things worse.

Deidara seethed, "Scared of _me_! un!" he had reached Kakashi now, was right by him. "I could kill you right now!" he whipped out his kunai without ever looking away. But although he gripped it tightly, he did not raise it...

"I know you could." Kakashi spoke calmly. _Shit_. Had to tread carefully. Deidara's actions could be unpredictable..."You could, right now, like this. And maybe you could even kill me in a fight with no handicaps." He ventured a little now, made a guess..."It's just that, I don't think you really want to."

Deidara sneered. "Why? What makes you think that, un?"

"Because you haven't yet."

Deidara ground his teeth. "Don't think...Don't think it's anything! I hate you, un!" He fumed. "I- they- apparently they need you for our plans, bastard, that's the only thing stopping me, un."

"Plans?" _So, It was like he expected, Akatsuki wanted him alive to use him for something._

Deidara grew red in the face "I wont tell you anything!"

"You just did, you told me you need me alive for Akatsuki's plans."

A strange noise rose from Deidara's hands. He was grinding the teeth in those too. "I hate you, I hate you..."

This conversation could go on forever; Deidara trying desperately to convince himself that he held the upper-hand, when in fact he seemed to no idea what he was even doing. Deidara always caused his own problems and then blamed everyone else.

"And why's that? Because you attacked our allies, attacked us; and we apprehended you? It's your own fault."

The grinding noise stopped. Deidara had frozen.

That anger in his eyes, it had been smouldering there steadily, all this while.

But now, quite suddenly, it_ flared._

A streak of red darted down Deidara's chin; he had bitten his lip hard enough to draw blood.

What was he thinking now? What was going through his mind?

"I can still hurt you, un." he said quietly.

"I'm not easily hurt."

A smile slowly grew on Deidara's face; but it could not have been more full of bad intent.

Kakashi almost couldn't believe what happened next.

Without ever looking away from him, Deidara lifted one of his legs...and then slowly drew it up over Kakashi's bound legs.

His heart stopped.

_What..._

_Was this because..._

Deidara had moved so that he was now sat on Kakashi's lap; legs on either side of his own, straddling him.

_What the hell?_

"What are you doing?"

"Gonna ask me to stop, un?"

"You wont - you wont do anything," he bluffed. Deidara really did seem intent on trying to prove something to him. He seem really determined to see Kakashi flustered.

"Ask me to stop."

"No."

Although Deidara was smiling, his eyes, they were still furious. "Not scared yet, un?"

"I don't see why I should be."_ He hoped this wasn't going where he thought it was..._

"Your heart is racing, un."_  
_

Deidara leaned in close. Kakashi leaned back, but his head met the wall was just behind him. He cleared his throat, a little nervously.

Deidara closed his eyes, and then he slowly pulled down Kakashi's mask, all the way past his chin; it gathered, bunched around his neck.

Kakashi had never gone with his face uncovered in front of anyone, not since he was a small child. "Hey..." Kakashi's voice was clear, un-muffled. He paused, unused to hearing his own voice this way. The air was cold on his face, but Deidara brought his own in close. Brought it in until their lips almost met.

"If you kiss me, I wont hurt you."

_This again? He thought that this issue had been forgotten! The other night, maybe it really hadn't been a one-off thing? This was something that was affecting Deidara more than he thought. But it still could never happen, and Deidara had to hear it.  
_

"We've had this already. I still don't want to." He said, bluntly. " I don't think you get how it works, you can't just make someone kiss you. You don't understand..."

Never opening his eyes, nor moving his face from Kakashi's; Deidara raised the kunai and struck, quite suddenly, into Kakashi's chest. It wasn't deep, wasn't fatal; but he raked it, hard, sideways across Kakashi's chest, ripping his vest front and leaving a deep cut there.

Kakashi cried out, from both surprise and pain, "Don't." He said, "Don't do that." _What was this violent change?_

"That's more like it, un" murmured Deidara. Deidara brought up his free hand and ran it along his chest, the tongue within lapping at the cut... _'licking it better?' _A slight shiver ran through Kakashi at the strange feeling of it.

"Don't...."

"Hmm. Beg me a little, un, a little nicer. And I might think about it."

"Ah..." Kakashi gasped, as Deidara's hand bit suddenly into his shoulder, above the burning cut across his chest.

Deidara opened his eyes at his gasp. He stared at the bloodied teeth marks he'd left on Kakashi's shoulder...

His eyes had changed. They were different. Now Deidara seemed to look straight through him; it was like he wasn't there, like he was seeing something else. It was chilling.

_Kakashi had a feeling he knew what this was._

But as much as he stared at Kakashi, Deidara wouldn't look at Kakashi's face, would not look him in the eye. He lowered his head, Kakashi couldn't read his expression.

Deidara shifted himself closer, moving right up against him, so that that they were pressed together.

"Hey, hey..."

Deidara tightened the grip of his legs on either side of Kakashi's. He ground his body into him, his long hair lightly brushing against the uncovered part of Kakashi's chest...

To his shame, Kakashi felt aroused.

He was still just a man. And it had been a long time for him.

_And Deidara...Deidara was..._

_Deidara was very..._

He felt disgusted with himself.

Who really had the upper-hand here? Who was really in control? It felt like Deidara was the one pleading with him. As if Deidara was the one trying to get free, from something...

Kakashi was able to relax himself, to keep control of his body's reactions. _Stay calm. Just breathe. _Deidara wasn't thinking straight, he had serious issues. Wasn't exactly _sane_. How to reason with someone who had no sense of reason? Deidara was so unpredictable; he changed mood every few minutes, Kakashi just couldn't up with it. But reason was the only weapon he could use, when he was unable to move like this. He could only try to talk him around, try and appeal. Kakashi's heart still hammered, fast.

"Deidara, ahem." It felt slightly ridiculous, trying to keep a natural conversational tone with this...situation happening in his lap. "You will regret this later, think about what you're doing," He still kept control of his voice, even now, even though he wanted to shout at him. He wanted to shout sense into him! "Half an hour from now, you'll feel different again, you'll want something else..."

_But Deidara pushed his hands down his trousers_. This was possibly the most shocking thing that had ever happened to him. _"Don't."_ he grit out, again.

Kakashi had his pride too. He didn't want to plead with Deidara to stop. But would he stop if he pleaded, anyway?

Did Deidara really mean to do it?

This couldn't really be happening, not to him. It happened, in the world. It happened to people all the time; and that was sad. But it just wouldn't happen to him, it couldn't. He had never considered in his life that he could even be a_ target _for this. He wasn't one to flaunt his skill, but, he was Kakashi Hatake...and this confused kid, he was causing him to lose his calm. Was going to...

Kakashi's thoughts raced, was this panic? No one else was appearing, they were alone.

It was so chilling. Deidara ran his hands up underneath Kakashi's vest, over his back, his chest. But he seemed distant. Deidara's movements were stiff, lacking any eagerness. It was like he was just going through the motions, lacking any imagination,_ lacking in experience_..

Deidara had seemed like the type who was unlikely to pursue romantic relationships. The type who liked to keep his distance. When their group had caught him, Deidara had cringed and fought away from every bit of contact, intolerant of touch. So why would someone like him want to do _this?_

Was this his revenge? Was this because it had been Kakashi's fault that he'd been handed over to the Sand Village, that Kakashi had just given him up, allowed it to happen? Allowed this same thing to happen to Deidara?

Kakashi didn't like his personal space invaded either. He hated the feel of this, was intimidated by the feel of this. Deidara was not heavy, his small weight and stature on top of Kakashi felt comparable to that of a woman. But, when he and Gai had had to pin Deidara, had had to force him to do things; that had to be even more intimidating, that threat coming from someone so much larger. Kakashi had only been tied up the last twenty minutes or so, well, whilst aware, and it was uncomfortable already. Made worse by the threat that sat on top of him. Deidara had gone for four days like this; no defense against anything that had happened to him. Helpless, like he was now.

But this was an act below anyone, unbecoming of any shinobi no matter their alliance. It was below Deidara. Rape. It was unmanly.

And Kakashi was afraid of it, and of him.

He finally raised his voice, and the calm was gone from it. He didn't even recognise it._ "_Deidara, just stop! _Please!"  
_

And just like that, Deidara did.

He stopped his actions, frozen. As if he had just snapped out of something. Didn't move, not for a long while.

Then Deidara silently readjusted Kakashi's clothes that he had disturbed.

Head still bowed, Deidara slowly rose both of his hands to Kakashi's mask; pulling it back up to cover his face, without ever looking up.

Kakashi could only see the back of Deidara's blond head as it hung there below him. He couldn't even guess at what Deidara was thinking right now. It was impossible to tell.

Deidara pressed his hands down on the ground and, a little unsteadily, pushed himself up; getting off of Kakashi. As he did so, Kakashi felt a spot of something wet fall on his leg, dripped from the end of Deidara's hair.

He stared at it, checking that it was really there.

_This tough-guy..._

Kakashi remembered the first time he'd ever seen Deidara, only a few days ago, though it felt like it had been much longer. It had been in a cave, like they were in now. Deidara had been casually sat astride the dead body of Gaara.

He remembered his first impression of Deidara. _Here was a young man that didn't care about anything_. A true cold-hearted member of Akatsuki who held no respect for life, or death. Who seemed to thrive on the shocked reactions he elicited from their team as he coldly informed them, completely unmoved, that Gaara was already dead.

This tough-guy, who really thought that he was ruthless. This guy who really thought, no, who honestly believed that he was evil...

He was crying.

--------------------------------------

_"...oi, don't do __that_, or they'll know."

_"I-I wasn't going to!"_

_"Psh."_

_"Fine, wouldn't want to catch something anyway...I bet he get's around, look at him. Probably what Akatsuki keep him for..."_

He'd forgotten.

_"That's right, don't risk it."_

Hadn't ever wanted to remember.

_The guard stopped his actions. He felt first his trouser, and then his vest pockets, grinning. "I have some left."_

_"Are you stupid?"_

_"I'll be gentle, I'll clean up. No one will know."_

_"Ugh."  
_

_"Do you want one?"_

_"What? No! look, if you're going to do it, just be quick-"  
_

_"s-stop, un...please..."_

_"Shh," His face was kissed. _

_"Crank the chair back a little more."_

------------------------------

TBC

------------------------------

Notes:

Forgive me. *hides* I'm **sick.** *Writhes around in delicious horror and self-loathing.* I'm not giving in to demand, it was always planned to happen since I wrote chapter 3 and is not some alternate/extended version of chapter 3. If some of things about that scene didn't quite add up before, this is why.

I kind of stole 'Because shut up' from a yugi-oh-abridged video. It is my favourite line in anything ever. It is the ultimate answer to everything, EVERYTHING. Why are you late? - _'Because shut up.'_ Why do you enjoy erotic fiction about a bunch of cartoon characters? -_ 'Because shut up.'_

ANYWAY...*hasty subject change*

**(Manga spoiler?) **

OMG!!!!!!!!!!1111 what is with that Iwa woman in the recent chapter who called Deidara 'Deidara-nii'? Ohh my god I really, really hope its his sister and we hear more Deidara backstory! she'd better have mouth-hands under those gloves. Nooes, I said in my fic that Deidara wasn't used to talking to girls, arrgh, noooes.

------------------------------

Chapter 8 will take longer to write than previous chapters, I have extra hours at work and started a new part-time course. Bah, the necessities of life.

-------------------------------

**Feedback** **:**

** K:** Oh my god it made your day, I am so happy T_T I hope the next chapter can live up to the others. Thankyou so much for reviewing again! Hahaha Kaka pinning Dei was hot, I agree :D Aw, the SasoDei pairing is still nice, but I yeah it's good to see Dei with different characters for a change sometimes :D Hope you like the future chapters!

black55widow: So glad that you liked the new chapters! Oh my, of course there was no real hair cut, I wouldn't hurt Dei's hair lol! (actually...*thinks about it*) Glad you think it's interesting and enjoy it :) Thanks so much for reviewing again! Hope you like the new chapter, it's nice and evil (bwahaha.)

**.xSatetsux.:** Thanks for reviewing! Hm about Kakashi, Maaaaybe I will and maaybe I won't, I can't answer muhahaha. Yes Dei is concerned although he wont admit it to himself, he's so cute!  
I'm really glad you like the fic and hope you like the new chapter!

**RainingSprinklesDownMyThroat:** Bwaha oh no don't get addicted, addictions bad lol. Thanks for reviewing again! I like this chapter too, some rare moments of happiness for Dei-chan. Yes Dei can't really get over the rejection is seems ;) Yep I have plans to write a HidaDei smut fic, but I'll write some more chapters of Ground first (those two are too amusing together) :D I hope you like the new chapter!  
**  
xgangsofasiax:** Hey thanks soo much for reviewing again! Muhaha Hidan and his fucking filthy mouth, he got Deidara swearing more too lol. Hope you like the new chapter!  
**  
Goldy-Gry:** Thankyooou for reviewing again!! Glad you liked the chapters :) Just read and see muhaha. Sorry for leaving the fic in such and evil cliff-hangy place last time. Hope future chapters don't disappoint!

**La Ange Noir:** Haha, glad you were so happy to see the update! Thanks for reviewing! Glad you liked Hidan, I tried to make him as much of a bastard as possible :3 Hope the new chapters ok!

**FluffyKeira:** Hey thanks for reviewing again! :D ...._'...I think you should do it! (the twisted HidaDei fic) It's a great idea! I've never really thought about them before, but I think your Deidara could end up with Hidan in **some angsty thing where he has to wear lacy things and bows!...'**_

That is.....*nosebleed* SO MUCH BETTER than anything I could come up with. Oh my GOD, why don't YOU write it, lol! XD Lacy things...he could lose a bet, have to do whatever Hidan wants...forget that, he has to serve all Akatsuki, ok this sounds like the most cliche thing in the whole universe..but a good cliche...muhaha....Damn it, it's your fault if Grounded gets held back because I have to write this pervy hidadei fic lol!!  
Deidara just IS Ed but crazier, XD My fave part of chap 6 was where he is all angsty and miserable on the ground too XD Hope you like new chapter!

** Iceblueme:** I'm glad that you like the story :D I don't write that great, I make loads of mistakes lol T_T I think your english is excellent! Thankyou so much for reviewing, I really appreciate it! Ah, poor cute angsting Deidara. I hope you like the new chapter ok, it's kind of dark :D

**  
not a member soz:** Ooh thankyou for reviewing, glad your liking the fic! yesss, helpless needy proud dei is delicious. Lol, your favourite moment is also my favourite moment XD ;)  
Don't worry, I so enjoy writing this fic. When I say I find it harder to write, I mean with ideas, but it's not hard to enjoy writing it...  
(ps. what makes you think they still wont get him as far as prison? lol ;) I must say NO to a bald dei though o_0)

** Daoi Sidhe:** I love Hidan too! Even though I made him so evil, bwaha. Hey, thanks so much for reviewing! Poor Kaka-chan...things get worse for him, sorry T_T hope you still like the new chapter though!

**tomato sauce: **Hey thanks very much for reviewing! :D Ooh, thankyou for pointing that out about the exclamation marks. I will try and keep that in mind, maybe go back and correct some things too(I like tweaking). My favourite thing about Deidara is his crazy obsessiveness, I'm glad you like the way I write him, because I worry he breaks character sometimes :/  
I'mglad you like the fic and hope future chapters don't disappoint! :D


	8. Truth

**Update: revised the Hidan bit a little.**

Sorry, sorry for the unusually long wait!!!

I had so much busy life crap. And this was an awkward transitional chapter to write, argh. Very VERY difficult to write, hope it's ok T_T I got upset over it T_T And I changed my mind about 4 times while writing it. Then I got so confused that I wrote the outlines for every single chapter until the end before coming back and finishing it. But some of those will need to change too. ARRGHHHH.

Instead of a really really long chapter like last time, this chapter is shorter, but another short one will follow in....this week...sound fair? :D It's not for the sake of having shorter chapters, it's just that the events of this and the next didn't work well together as one chapter for some reason :/ So it felt better to separate it.

Anyway, without further ado...

-----------------------

_He still held back Deidara's hair. Deidara convulsed violently with each retch; something was wrong with him. _

_"What's wrong? Does it hurt?"__ He wouldn't answer, just grimaced. Kakashi offered his waterpack and Deidara excepted it, washing his mouth out._

_Then he collapsed, curled up on his side; eyes clenched shut.  
_

_"Sakura!" Kakashi called out for her, rubbing Deidara's back."Are you in pain?" he asked, again. But Deidara just turned his face away. In pain... he was actually asking a guy suffering severed arms if he was in pain. Gai and Neji who had been hovering nearby approached now, seeing the commotion.  
_

_"Does your stomach hurt?__ ventured Kakashi__ as Sakura returned to the campsite, "Can Sakura look?" Deidara had brought his knees up nearly against his chest. If he had arms, Kakashi guessed that they would probably be wrapped tightly around his stomach right now..._

_"I'm fine, un," Deidara grit out quietly, angrily.  
_

_"Let me see, Deidara?"  
_

_"Let her help you." said Gai._

_"Stop it, just stop it un..." Deidara hissed. __  
_

_They uncurled him anyway, and he didn't resist at all. He seemed too wearied to even try and make it hard for them. Or maybe he just accepted that they'd do it anyway, and there was nothing he could do about it.  
_

_ Sakura squinting in the darkness with some difficulty. Removing her glove, she felt his stomach, pressing down gently;_

_"Internal injuries...?" She looked at Neji, wanted him to use his byakugan.__  
_

_Neji bent closer. "There's internal bleeding and injury. And still the broken rib from before..." _

_"He's been punched in the stomach really hard," said Sakura, "I think it's serious..."  
_

_No wonder it hurt him so much when he was throwing up. __And hurt him still, but he was just silently dealing with it; like he did with everything._

_"Can I?" Sakura hadn't used her abilities past normal first aid on Deidara before. As he was a captured enemy and not in critical condition, there was no point in wasting valuable chakra that could be used on teammates. It was also not practical to do anything that would make it easier for him to escape... but they hadn't planned on him being taken by the Sand village, or recieving rough treatment whilst carrying his injuries.  
_

_"Yes." It was hard, to watching him suffer like this.  
_

_"Please do," said Gai. No one could disagree with it._

_"G-get the hell off, I don't need help un." He was hating their attention, cringing away from their contact again._

_"At least he's talking again," said Gai. It was a relief; stubborn was normal for him, but allowing them to see that he was in pain was not. It had to be bad.  
_

_"Just stay still, I'm going to make it hurt less." Their faces became softly illuminated by the green light from Sakura's hands as she began using her healing jutsu._

_ "Why un?" hissed Deidara, "None of you cared yesterday..." he stopped, actually wanting an answer, "Why do you treat me different now un? I'm same as yesterday...I'm the same..."  
_

_"You are." Said Kakashi. Deidara preferred being treated like an enemy. Despite being badly shaken, he was still a proud little bugger.  
_

_As for why they were treating him differently now, no one would say it out loud. There was uneasy silence; it was because there was guilt involved..._

_ When he'd kidnapped Gaara, attacked them; his captivity and any wounds and pain he felt had been brought upon him by himself. But now, it just felt different. A new thought came to Kakashi; They'd never offered him relief from the pain before, so why would he have ever asked or bothered to let them know? They were confusing him.  
_

_Running his eyes further over Deidara, Neji found more to say. "And I also think that maybe..." Neji actually hesitated, stammered. "maybe..."_

_"What?"_

_ "I'm not medically specialised. I'm not sure, but I think..." He looked at Kakashi. "...it's something I thought before, when we were in that room.."  
_

_"It's alright, Neji." Kakashi knew. It had been obvious enough._

_"Nothing happened there un..."_

_He was in denial. Maybe it was better for him, for now._

_--------------------------------------------  
_

Quietly lifting himself from Kakashi's lap, Deidara stepped away and crouched back down by the cave wall; hiding his face.

Kakashi's heart was still racing. Blood still streamed from the deep cut across his chest.

But, it seemed he was safe again, for now. He stared across at Deidara - he looked completely overwhelmed by whatever it was that he was thinking.

_What had caused him to act like that? Then to stop like that? What had caused him to cry...to let Kakashi _see_ him cry? It was so unlike him, it was disturbing._

He debated with the idea of talking to him, then decided to be quiet for now, to allow Deidara to take his time and try to gather himself. He didn't want to risk sparking another outburst.

Deidara was tracing one hand across cave wall, feeling it, as if for confirmation of where he was.

"It's... kind of clearer now, un." He spoke slowly, wavering unsteadily. "I forgot. I forgot everything..."

_Was he finally talking about it? Wanting to talk about his time in the Sand Prison?_

"Forgotten what?" Asked Kakashi; softly, tentatively.

Deidara shook his head.

"You want to tell me about it?"_ You wouldn't have said, if you didn't._

He was almost couldn't believe what Deidara said next._  
_

"Are you mad at me, un?"

_What?_

"Well, yes. A bit."_ He couldn't lie. _"But you don't seem yourself right now; just then."

More silence. Deidara's hands were restlessly clenching and unclenching, the tongues chewing the ends of his fingernails nervously.

"You can tell me if you want. I'm not that mad at you, Deidara."_ I don't hate you. For some crazy reason I can't hate you. _

"It's weird. I remember everything now, un."

"What happened?"

He drew tighter into himself.

And then, finally, it all began to come out.

"They... tied me in a chair, and started saying all these things un, about me." He paused. "And...they hit me and I thought it would all just be torture and shit. For information, un. You know?"

"I know."_ He felt some dread at where this would now be going._

"But then it changed, un. I didn't get why they wanted to. Because I'm not a woman. And they said they had families un." _Shit. Deidara really _was _young._ _He really didn't understand what people could do, even though he was in Akatsuki. _

"But now...I think I understand it, more. I think all they really wanted un, was to see me being..." He voice was sounding more and more strained. "Wanted to make me..."

"You don't have to..."

"...they mostly just wanted to make me scared, un. See me scared. Make me plead. Because they hated me, un. Because of what I did before. It was my own fault un."

He lifted his head, met Kakashi's eyes now. He thought that Deidara had finished, had wiped them away; but tears still ran freely down his face. "I'm sorry, for just now," his voice cracked, "I'm sorry..."

_He wasn't crying because he remembered his ordeal. He was crying because he was sorry that he'd nearly done the same thing to Kakashi._

"Everythings my own fault, un." He wiped his eyes with his arm. "When you said it...I got mad. But it's true."

Kakashi couldn't believe it. Deidara was apologising, blaming himself. Actually excepting the truth.

"Look...you're right." _It was what he honestly thought._ "A lot of this is your fault."

Deidara leaned his head on his knees, listening.

"It was your own fault that I severed your arm. You kidnapped Gaara, you were taking him away, I had no choice but to try anything I could to stop you. And it was your own fault you were captured by us. It was because of what you did - that you were fighting us in the first place."

He took a deep breath. "But, after we caught you, anything that happened to you thereafter was my responsibilty." _It had been plauging him ever since._ "When the Sand Village took you; I could have done more to prevent it. I should have thought ahead. I was over-confident; thinking that they wouldn't recognise you. I didn't really think about it."

Deidara seemed to be taking it in, but what he was thinking; Kakashi didn't know.

"I never...." _His turn now. _"I never did apologise about that, did I? I'm sorry. I feel so horrible about it. I have done ever since it happened. And you didn't deserve what happened there."

Deidara stared at the floor. Muttered something quietly, _grumpily_. Kakashi managed to catch some words that sounded like_"...'fucking 'bandit on the road' shit un..._ "

Kakashi couldn't help himself, he chuckled slightly. "Yeah, my story was quite shit-"

"Are you going to tell the others, un? Would you tell them?" Interuppted Deidara, suddenly. The others? Did he mean Gai and their students?

"The others already know what happened there Deidara, it's alright."_ Apparently you were the only one that didn't know._ "And as you can see; I'm not going anywhere." _'.....Going to tell the others.'... Was he implying that Kakashi would be freed?_

"No, I mean...about just now, un." _He was ashamed of it._

"I won't tell."

"How can I know you won't?"

"My word. Have I ever lied to you? Don't worry, I won't ruin your image as some kind of revenge;" _Wait, image? But didn't Akatsuki like to keep an evil image? Anyway..._" I don't hate you. I understand why you did it, well, I think. It's hard-

Deidara picked up his Kunai again.

"You know, I fucking hate the sound of your voice, un."

_So quickly?_

"You think that you're so much better. So fucking _decent_,_ 'clean'_. So you don't even hate me a little for what I did to you? For what I'm still doing to you..."

"Calm down."

But Deidara wouldn't listen, he was lost again, to his anger, _already_. "How are you like that, un? No one is like that!" He started_ shouting._ " I don't believe you. What do you really think of me! You're only saying this shit because I have you tied up; right? It was a different story when you were free and I wasn't, un!"

"Ok, OK,_ look_."_ It was getting scary again_. "Duty and feelings are separate. So, what I have to do, is different from what I think."

_Those who give up on their duties are scum...and those who give up on their...who give up on their...  
_

_Kakashi was thinking about_ Him_ again, suddenly._

"I didn't hate you, I was never cruel to you, was I? I mean everything..."

_Deidara was different from him. It was like Deidara just believed that whatever Akatsuki wanted - was what he wanted too. Did he think Kakashi was like that?  
_

"Everything is fucking lies and secrets with you, un. Your face, your strength; how do you get that sharingan power anyway, when you aren't even Uchiha, huh? Stole it from a guy you killed un? I know you aren't as honorable as you make out to be, no way. This shit you say to me - it's not true either. If you were free right now, you'd still try and kill me, un. I know you hate me."

"I _really_ don't."_ He still said it, even though it wasn't what Deidara wanted to hear. Even though Deidara had a knife._

"I hate the sight of you, un." Deidara stood.

--------------------------------

"Well, I'm sure they are in Konoha by now, taking good care of Lee."

"Yes..."

They kept going, scanning briefly over the ground as they went, looking for clues.

"So, why the reluctance to kill Deidara then?" Asked Izumo. "None of you were keen on the idea back there."

"Well, I'll be honest," Said Gai, "I think it may have been that we spoke to him too much."

"Like I thought. This is always what happens! It's all enemy wiles though, Akatsuki would probably be especially skilled at that. Did he try to sweet-talk his way out of it, make friends? What did he try?"

"Actually, he mostly just screamed and swore at us."

"...and you got attached...because of that?"

"It wasn't just that, Izumo."

"What else?"

"He displayed ... **YOUTH POWER!**"

Izumo groaned inwardly. He wondered why they partnered him with Gai. He wondered he couldn't have put him with someone else. Even the Naruto kid.

"It was so cute Izumo, how he would describe how he would kill us even though he was tied up! So admirable how would still try to fight us, even with the hindrance of no arms!" Gai's face suddenly scrunched up with emotion, he actually began _crying_.

"Well," Izumo decided to ignore the crying. "I have to admit - he would be the easiest to keep for information; considering he has no arms. Shikumaru is just so hard to argue with, everything he says just makes sense...Look, Gai, _please_ stop crying!"

They stopped for a moment, Izumo handed him a handkerchief.

"You are right, I'm sorry!" Gai sobbed into the thing. "We must concentrate on finding those Akatsuki members, and Kakashi, although I'm sure he is alright..."

"He'll be fine, he's really capable. Mic probably just broke."

_"I Wouldn't be so confident about that if I was you."_

--------------------------------

Struggling with the pain in his chest; Kakashi squinted over Deidara's shoulder as a huge silhouette blocked the light at the cave entrance.

It was Kakuzu. He entered, dumping his briefcase on the ground. He seemed furious.

"Couldn't get the bounty!" He growled. "Is he awake yet?" Kakuzu turned to Deidara.

He stared at how Deidara was bent over Kakashi; with his kunai in hand. At the fresh blood Kakashi had all over his chest.

"What the hell is this!" His eyes blazed, "The leader told us not to harm him!"

"Kakuzu, un..."

Stalking over to him, Kazuzu grabbed the kunai from Deidara's hand and then viciously backhanded him across the face. It was powerful; sent him to the ground. Kakashi actually flinched at the sight.

"Well?"

Deidara sat up, scowling, seething. But he didn't dare insult Kakuzu, he seemed cautious of him - obediant, even. "I...guess I got out of control. That fucker had me captive for days Kakuzu, I wanted a little revenge un." He glared over at Kakashi. "You know me, I can't let shit go un."

Kakuzu stared at Kakashi. At his ripped clothes. At the teeth marks Deidara left in him.

"For what he did to you?" From the filthy look he gave Kakashi, Kakashi had a feeling that Kakuzu didn't mean when he took Deidara's right arm...

"That's not it un, I just hate him!...Give me back the kunai-"

"What the hell! I would expect this from Hidan, but you're stupid enough to do something like this too?" His hand shot out, and gripped around Deidara's neck...Deidara looked fearful, but Kakuzu didn't do anything else. "_I can't deal with your crazy rambling, I'm already angry._ _You're going to piss me off even more, and you aren't like Hidan... so get out before I do something you'll regret. Don't come back for a good hour."_

He released Deidara, shoved him away.

-------------------

"YOU AGAIN!" Screamed Gai.

"Hey again! Want some more? After I fucked up that little mini-you?"

"Bastard! Lee's recovering already, what you did, that cowardly act..." But Gai hesitated to attack, wary, careful of what he knew of Hidan's skill...

_"Hey, Asuma, got one of Akatsuki right here, the one with the sycthe..."_ Izumo was using his mic.

"Oh yeah, the message. The reason I'm here!" Hidan sighed, "OK, this is boring but they told me to say it..."

"_Message?_ Akatsuki are making demands?"

"Shut up and listen or I'll get it wrong! OK, that Kakashi guy- we have him. Konoha is to send their Jinchuuriki to meet with us at the border of the Fire and River Country, tomorrow. Alone. And then you'll lose your cursed one, and get your legendary ninja back! It's a Win win situation...The copy-nin is pretty good I'll admit, I mean, I beat him, ha..."

Gai and Izumo looked at each other.

"What kind of ridiculous request is that? We won't give up Naruto!" Shouted Gai.

"You don't even have Kakashi, where is he then, what proof do you have?"

"...Oh , that." Hidan threw something at them, laughing when they leapt out of the way to avoid it, as if it were a bomb.

"Haha, yeah I'd avoid it, don't wanna think about where it's been..."

Gai cautiously looked at it, gingerly picked it up. Kakashi's book... Gai gasped. _"He'd never be parted from this.._" He said quietly to Izumo.

_"Where is he?_" Asked Izumo.

"Oh, in pieces you know," Said Hidan, scratching his head. "We'll just cut off a little more and more of him for everyday Naruto doesn't show. "

Gai blanched. He could believe it. He could believe that Hidan could be that sick toward a prisoner... Izumo just stared in speechless horror.

"Yes," Hidan seemed encouraged by the reactions, "Kakuzu and Deidara are with him right now torturing him and shit, and Deidara got his mouths-fangs back, and those things are fucking sharp...so you'd better hurry...! I have to go back and help out." He disappeared, smoke, it hadn't even been him...

"_Oh my God what are they doing to him!_" Izumo's eyes frantically searched the trees, for the way that Hidan went.

"....It's alright, I... think he was lying." Said Gai, sounding strangely calm suddenly.

"What, they don't really have him?"

"No, about the torture thing. Because he said Deidara was helping...I know that he wouldn't. And why harm a hostage, before even issuing demands? It was all talk... That guy, he likes to talk, I think he just says things for shock..."

Izumo didn't feel so confident. "I really hope that you're right Gai."

"Let's hurry anyway."

---------------------------

_Fucking Kakashi. Fucking stupid Kakashi..._

_He'd told him everything. Shown him everything. Let it out, lost it; both physically and verbally._

_But still Kakashi looked at him in that same way. Even after Deidara did all that, made a fool of himself.  
_

_He regretted doing that now, now that he was thinking more clearly. Regretted telling him.  
_

_He should never have told him, why was he so stupid!_

_What he'd just done, before Kakuzu came in...he couldn't believe what he'd done-!_

_And that had been so close, with Kakuzu. Deidara usually knew better than to cause Kakuzu even mild irritation when they were around each other...  
_

He heard a crunch on the leaves.

Disturbed from his thoughts, Deidara leapt behind a tree. It was dark...but he could see moonlight off the back of a little night animal running away - _that was a relief._

_No._

_Something else..._

_He heard a yell.  
_

"Don't move, Akatsuki!"

-----------------------------------------------

**TBC**

-----------------------------------------------

You won't guess who it is...seriously no one will guess ahaha.

DEIDARA-CHAAAAAAN!!!111 *hugs him* What have I DONE to you? You used to be so badass! T_T (secretly enjoying him crying and cute and revelling in the delicious evilness)

**Next chapter:** OK, like I said, this one is shorter, this is for 2 reasons. I split it to give 2 short chapters this week AND it felt better as two chapters, they were so different in mood. Anyway I'm tweaking the other one, up within the week...

next one is exciting I promise

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**Feedback**

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**Cole-Hyuuga:** Ahh, then your taste is excellent then! (fufufu) I can't help him just yet, my bad side wants to make him suffer more srry T_T Thanks so much for reviewing, glad your liking the story!

** Tori-chan:** Omg, thankyou, so glad to hear you like the writing style (I worry about it all the time) Nothing is more fun than exploiting Deidara's weakness, yay! Gad you like the KakaDei pairing too, thanks so much for reviewing, hope continue to enjoy the fic ^^  
**  
RainingSprinklesDownMyThroat:** Yess table-turning. Delicious irony. Sorry I made you sad...crying Dei is cute though? :D Sorry it was such a long wait and the chapters not that long *wibble* *wibble* I'll make it al up in future chapters...thanks so much for reviewing again! x  
**  
blah:** Heya, thanks for reviewing!! Interesting to see what you liked best each chapter, my fave part is where Kaka used genjutsu on him too, muhaha. Hope chap 3 wasn't too sad, ah everyone seems to love the chapter 2 omake lol! Hope you continue to enjoy the fic!  
**  
Goldy-Gry:** Yeah poor Dei :( ...Poor Kaka...sorry about the sadness, (Dei was cute though, ne?:D) Thanks so much for reviewing and sorry for making you wait so long for this one!! x This chapter was a lil awkward, more exciting things on the way~

**KakashiKrazed:** Heya, thanks for such an indepth review, I squeed over it very much indeed...seriously...(you have noooooo idea)  
I'm so glad you like the style I chose for it, and that the story and development is working out, and the characterisations. I like the brotherhood aspect of Akatsuki too! They'll be supportive of one another, when appropriate, but cross them and yeah...not pretty. And well, Hidadn, he's a professional bastard all of the time :D  
Yeah I thought Deidara would be the type to always lie to himself about how he feels to the point he just believes it, and totally forgot the sand thing. Poor crazy dei...  
Anyway thanks so much for reviewing, I hope future chapters do not disappoint! Sorry for the long wait and short length of this one, I'll make it up~

**Satetsu:**Eeee I love that you love it! *hug* I am SO sorry for almost giving you reason to leave your comfy chair lol :o Hmm Team Gai. I was going to be al ominous and 'maybe' with my answer but I feel I owe everyone for the excruciating wait for this chapter, so, yeah. They will :D

**  
Iceblueme:** Noo not tears in your eyes *hands a tissue* So glad you enjoyed it! Akatsuki, they aren't so bad...or maybe they find Hidan irritating XD Sorry for the long wait and shortness of this chapter, more exciting things are to come! Thankyou so much for reviewing again

** black55widow:** Lol, I love your 'hurray for evil'! I concur. Poor Dei. You may decide how far they got, if you wish ;) Yeah sisters and female friends would be different I suppose. Thanks so much for reviewing again!!  
**  
FluffyKeira:** YES! When dei was all let ME kill him, he was being possessive, but just didn't realise it hehe (no one kills my boyfriend except me,un!) Sorry for scaring you with threat of Kaka death..even though it was totally set up to freak people out...hehe. Lol yes, obsessed with the uniform (they always look so perfect down to the painted nails...I think they have a strict dress code) It was a little hot wasn't it..*feels bad* ITS OK, ITS OK, Kaka didn't have his virginity but maybe he'll get something better than that~ if i'm not feeling too cruel? ;)  
**  
xgangsofasiax:** Omg with the panda again! YAY! *steals it and...doesn't know wtf lichi soda is but it must be awesome* Sorry for making you want to cry for him, I torture the poor thing too much don't I...*shrugs and continues mercilessly* Thanks for reviewing again! Hope this chapters ok! x


	9. Time

A/N: Revised a little

--------------------------------------------------------------------

Deidara jumped slightly at the sound of the familiar voice.

_Sakura...?_

He looked back over his shoulder, slowly.

"...So I'm _'Akatsuki' _again, un?"

She was standing a short distance from him; "You're under arrest!" Sakura shouted with conviction, as he turned around. "I'm taking you back to Kono-" she paused.

They stared at each other.

She was alone; the other leaf-nin were not in sight. _Gai, Lee, did she get separated from them?_ She sounded determined enough...but looked unsure.

_Not so confident without her team behind her._ He could handle this...

_She didn't know about him and Kakashi, what happened with them. She'd seen him weak but hadn't seen and heard him spill everything out like that. He could still stand to look a little proud, in front of her.  
_

Sakura stood there, studying him for a moment. As if trying to figure out something- it was then that she noticed. Looked amazed.

"How did-"

Deidara looked down at his arms.

"Yeah..." _I have them back. Top secret Akatsuki shit._ "Not saying how, un..." He stopped, he was noticing something about her now...

_She was still wearing his clay pouch._

His heart leapt._ He had to get it. Had to. He needed it...  
_

"Where are _they_?" She asked, glancing around at the trees, without turning away from him. _She meant Kakuzu and Hidan._

"There's just me, those other two aren't here." He took a cautious step forward, to see what she would do.

_"Stay back!" _Sakura looked distrustful. She hadn't bargained on him having his arms back. She didn't know what he might be capable of now. She took up fighting stance-

_Sakura had killed Master Sasori, with the help of that old Lady. She had used Taijutsu to do it; she wasn't just a medic. Her arms looked strong, her fighting stance firm..._

_Fuck, was he scared of losing to this girl? Actually doubting his strength against hers? Just how pathetic had he become, to doubt himself this much?_

_If he could just get his clay pouch, it would solve fucking everything, give him his power again._

"I'm not gonna hurt you un, how could I?" He held out his hands, he had no weapons, no clay._..a long range fighter, about to give up even his range..._

Then he thought of something. Remembered something.

"Is Lee alright?"

Sakura looked taken aback. Her expression changed completely. "Y-yes, he should be alright. Tsunade-sama, our Hokage is looking after him now."

_Tsunade? He'd heard of her. She was one of those 'Sannin', her healing skill was said to be otherworldy. So Lee would be ok then?_

"I was going back with him to Konoha. I was with Tenten and another from our village. But a team of medical nin came and met us; then they continued on to Konoha." She looked worried, "I came back here...my team might need me, my healing, but I can't find Naruto and Kakashi, or anyone..."

_She was lost?  
_

_Deidara could have told her kakashi was. Not that she'd like it.  
_

_Just how close were they to Konoha? It couldn't be far, two hours at most? It was risky, for him; being here. He was lost too, didn't know where the fuck they were exactly.  
_

_She was starting to trust him. Starting to look at him the way she did when he'd been captive, like he was something that couldn't hurt her. She was going to be very surprised._

"Hey...I'm glad, un. About Lee. What about the others?" _It was working, so he kept it up_. He kept heading towards her.

"They were all OK."

"Are you sure, I heard that Naruto or Neji might be..." _It wasn't that he really wanted to know. Just getting her to trust him. Maybe a_ little_ curiosity was involved._

"No, they were fine, Neji hurt his arm, I healed it..." _She was supposed to some kind of taijutsu expert but all he'd ever seen her do was heal other people. Didn't she care about displaying her fighting skill, showing it off, even a little? The thought was strange.  
_

"Don't get too close - What do you want..."

"You said you wanted to arrest me right? Here I am...."

"Stay right there!"

He laughed. "How will you arrest me then? Change of heart un, or scared?"

Sakura blushed furiously. Looked _mad. Damn, he needed to stick with his well-meaning tactic._

"Thanks for helping me before, healing me...I feel bad for kicking you in the face, un."

Sakura actually smiled a little, despite herself. "It was my job," She brought a hand to her cheek, the bruise was still there. He used to think that she was vain, but she wasn't vain enough to waste her energy on healing such a minor mark, reserving it instead for her team. Wasn't vain enough to briefly stop and change the clothes that were still stained in his blood.

_The clay_, he reminded himself.

_He judged that he would be able to reach it without notice now. He concentrated on her face, making sure not to stare at the bag too much, to give away his intention. Their eyes were locked._

He knew from how she blushed the other times, that she liked him. This was a power in itself, almost. What he was doing to her, just by looking at her.

"I feel different about you Leaf guys now un, your team. They aren't so bad ...especially _you."_

They were right by each other now. She was a little shorter than him; _It was a change for once to be the one looking down at someone._

_She trusted him, from the the moment that he'd asked about Lee - he knew he had her._

Very, very carefully he lifted the flap of his clay bag._  
_

"Me?"

_Bandages. Syringes. Useless shit, she'd mixed all her own crap in with his! Where was the clay? He searched for it.  
_

"Yeah, un. I think different about you than before."

Her face hardened, suddenly suspicious. "Hey ...how did you know about Neji?" _He'd been with her, Gai and Lee the last time they'd seen each other._ "Did you see Kakashi and Naruto again?"

"Uh..."

She grabbed a firm hold of his arm with one hand, suddenly aware of what he doing. _Fuck she was strong!_ She delivered a fist to his face that made him dizzy.

_But it was ok, he already had what he needed._

His hand consumed it right away. _Finally, finally._ The familiar feeling, taking in the clay, it was beautiful. He threw the result at her feet, it buried itself in the ground and then burst out of it, ten times the size. It was one of his favourites; a centipede-like clay creation. It coiled up around her, pinning her to a tree. She struggled immeadiately.

"Careful, that's explosive, un." He said as he approached again, happy. _He'd felt a rush, being able to use his art again. The centipede was a little shoddy looking, it was amazing what just a week out of practice could do to his skill. He needed to start practicing again right away..._

She flinched as he reached out unbuckled his bag from around her waist, took it back. He put it on_, _starting to feel more like himself already.

Thinking, he took a small handful of clay and shoved it down the hem of his shoe; _after his bag was taken away before, he must have wished a thousand times that he had thought of doing that-_

"W-what are you going to do?"

He looked up, remembering that she was there. She had stopped struggling; fearful of unintentionally making it explode.

And she looked so _hurt. Betrayed. _She'd trusted him. _Stupid girl, liking him like that; when he didn't feel the same about her..._

_Did she feel as stupid as he did for liking Kakashi? But it wasn't like he could help how he felt..._

It was kind of wrong that he had played with her like that. And then just turned on her...It fucking hurt when Kakashi was kind to him, and then reminding him he had to be fucking _executed_, and then kind again...

What _was_ he going to do with her? His creation would automatically explode in five minutes - well, four and a half minutes now._ He should get away from here..._

"LET ME GO!" _She shouted. As if he would. Did she think he would?  
_

_Stupid girl, stupid girl who just thought that just because she healed him, washed him, soothed him like no one had done since his fucking mother- _he felt a pang_. _Remembered all the stuff that...

_Shit._

He stared at her.

Shit.

_He could...always just deactivate it. Get the maximum range away, and then deactivate it. He should get far enough that she wouldn't be able to follow him._

"Deidara, let me go, please, undo this_-" She pleaded so easily. Was it just easier for some people?  
_

"Ahh, trying the same trick I did? '_Loosen my ties a little_', un?" he grinned.

"I'm not, I'm not!" She didn't find it funny at all_._

_He would have to hurry, if he wanted to get a good distance away, too make sure she'd lose track of him..._

"Where are you going!" She shouted, seeing that he was leaving. There was panic in her voice now."You're just going to leave me like this?"

"Well, I have to get a good distance away, I'm gonna blow it up un." He smiled, evily. She'd know the truth in a few minutes anyway. He didn't tell her the truth, he didn't want her to look at him again like he was...

"But, what about, everything? Please, I know you're not really like this! I can tell..."

_She trusted way too easily. She shouldn't be seeing good in some evil guy who was trying to kill her. Seriously it was weird. One of these days a guy really was going to hurt her._

_Maybe he should take his own fucking advice.  
_

"Bye, Sakura."

_There were tears in her eyes._

_Ugh, that made two of them that day._

_He'd thought that as long as he could get his clay pouch back; it would have just solved everything...  
_

"Hey, un." She looked so scared._ They'd never meet again anyway_, _this was the last time_. "It'll be quick, Sakura-chan. So quick that you won't even notice it."

He meant to dash away. But he couldn't.

Because he was rooted to the spot. _What the shit?_

He couldn't even move so much as a finger.

"Speaking of things that are too quick to even notice..." A voice from some distance behind him. One that he didn't even recognise.

"What...what the hell's this, un?" Deidara found that he could speak; but that was all. He couldn't even turn his head around!

"You probably haven't seen this jutsu before. Well, have a look behind you - I'll let you."

------------------------

_"I hate the sight of you, un." Deidara stood._

_He stepped over to Kakashi, knelt down beside him again. Stone-faced._

_Kakashi flinched as Deidara raised the kunai, expecting to be struck. The deep cut across his chest burned enough already. But, reaching around him, Deidara brought the kunai out of Kakashi's sight, behind him. He grazed the kunai lightly down Kakashi's back, stopping when he reached his hands._

_A dim flare of blue from behind Kakashi reflected off the walls...and then the ties binding his hands together, and to the tree roots behind; were cut through._

_Kakashi wanted to say something, but that was when Kakuzu came back._

_-------------------------------------------_

Deidara found he was able to turn his head around. He craned back to look-

"Hey, Sakura-chan! Are you alright?"

"Naruto, Shikamaru!" shouted Sakura, she sounded glad.

It was Naruto and a guy with a weird haircut. _Konoha haircuts, seriously. The other one, Sakura had called Shikamaru-_

"What the hell _is this_ un?, _Why can't I move?_"

"Shadow possession jutsu." Said Shikamaru. "Anything that I do, you will mirror exactly." He idly scratched his neck and Deidara found himself doing the same, it was unnerving.

He looked glanced down...his shadow and the new guy's shadow, they were extended; connected togther, that was how he was doing it...

"Look, you've got to let me go un, this thing'll explode if I don't deactivate it!"

"No. If we let you go then you _will _activate it."

"I_'m telling the truth_, un!" _He shouldn't have delayed, he should have just done it quick..._

"That's exactly what you'd say if you wanted to trick us into letting you go... The _only_ thing you could say to make us let you go."

"Don't be fucking stupid, un! It has a wide range, it'll blow up everything in a fifty metre radius, all of us -"

"Couldn't we break it off of her?" Asked Naruto.

"Bad idea, we might set it off..."

"Look there's only about two minutes left on it, un!" Shouted Deidara.

_Shit. Fuck. Shit._

-----------------------------

_Kakashi's hands were free, he could escape..._

_ He was fast. Kakuzu was fast as well; they could have almost matched each other for speed before, when they fought. But, he had nearly died, and that was even when he had the help of Naruto and Neji..._

_Why had Deidara freed him? He'd been so hostile towards him just the moment before he cut Kakash's ties. Did Deidara feel a connection between them because they had spoken so deeply? He'd trusted Kakashi enough to tell him about his painful experience; but to trust him enough to let him go? He knew that Kakashi's mission was still to capture him. But he hadn't meant to manipulate Deidara back there, it was because he was really concerned, right?  
_

It was almost like Deidara _wanted_ Kakashi to chase him..._but that was crazy.  
_

Kakuzu opened his briefcase. For a moment Kakashi worried what he might pull out of it, a concealed weapon maybe; but the man just ignored him and began sorting through papers...

So even Akatsuki had paperwork to do. _The amount of paperwork Kakashi would have to do when this mission was over, he didn't even want to think about._

He decided to bide his time for now, his ANBU training and way of thinking taking over again. This was a perfect opportunity to gain information on the enemy...

"That paperwork interesting?"

"None of your buisiness."

"What are your plans with me?"

"I suppose that is your buisiness as it involves you. But shut up, I'm irritated."

"I don't mean to annoy..."

_Kakuzu's display of rage toward Deidara had been frightening. He thought for a moment that Kakuzu might even try to kill him..._

How did the tier system work in Akatsuki? Usually one of the two in each partnership seemed to lead. Itachi would make decisions over Kisame, Deidara called Sasori Master, Kakuzu often told Hidan what to do. They had a 'Leader'. But he hadn't seen them being so violent, forceful with_ each other_, until just now. Did they get forced into doing things? _Why did they join, how much choice and freedom did they have..._

"Has Deidara always been that way-?" _These guys would know what he was normally like. What he used to be like? Kakashi had only ever known him fighting, captive, or shaken up.  
_

Kakuzu snapped his briefcase shut and walked over to Kakashi.

_Shit._

"Why are you interested in him?"

_Was Kakuzu jumping to the wrong conclusion?_

"I..."

"Hey Kaku-chan-bastard, I'm back!" Hidan strode back into the cave. "I did what you wanted...what the hell, started without me?" Hidan scowled at the sight of Kakashi's bloodied chest.

"Him and Deidara...I think that he was one of the ones..." Kakuzu still stood there, staring down at him. _Still judging him, still deciding. There should be no reason to suspect Kakashi of doing it, he was known for his honour, stuck to his code. His reputation was perfect._

"I didn't touch him." _Please let them believe him..._ "The Sand Village took over custody, we tried to get him back-"

_"Eww!_ You know, I had suspicions Kakuzu. Before you joined us the other time, he was _sat_ on Dei-chan in the forest; had him in a genjutsu."

_It was getting worse._

"It _was_ just a genjutsu, to keep him captive-"

"With the way that you were looking at him? Haha, don't make me laugh, Bastard! And you carry around those perverted books-"

_It was awful, being suspected - accused of this. He remembered how helpless Deidara could look, the idea of hurting him made him sick; These two, if they believed it they would murder him. He probably would._

"Do you know that there is _one thing _that Akatsuki won't sink to..." Kakuzu's voice took on a tone that was terrifying.

"Let's just kill him right now! Let me sacrifice him, I'll make it extra painful. Fuck what the Leader says, the Jinchuriki's gonna have to show up at the corner border place anywa-"

**_"RAIKIRI!"_**

Kakashi made his move.

_------------------------------------_

**TBC**_  
_

_-------------------------------------_

No one guessed correctly who it was because I deliberately made it that way! *evil* Anyway,_  
_

**_BWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!! Suffer! Suffer not knowing what will happen for an unspecified amount of time _**(just the usual)**_ bwahahaha! *rolls around in delicious delicious evil*_**

....I apologise, that was Inner-Sera again, she's a little evil...you might have noticed. We write about half of the fic each :D

(Totally blaming any evilness on a fictitious evil persona lol)

UgghH, so much to keep track of, very confusing lol!! What people know about eachother and what they don't, no one knows Dei has arms back except a few ppl, only some characters know about the whereabouts of certain other characters arrrgh.

**Next Chapter:** in progress~

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_**Feedback:**_

**Goldy-Gry:** Hey again!! thanks for reviewing :D You like the beginiing? yay! me too ( was a little worried about that part) Glad you like the new chapter! Hope you like this one!

**Tsuki-Dei: ***wobbly eyes* There's just so much wrong with the fic I wish I could just start again, all I see is mistakes and missed opportunities but your review makes me squee and jump around, I totally can't write that good but omg thankyou thankyou *blush blush* Ooh, Kakadei NOT a crack pairing! *gasp* they totally had canon chemistry, in the anime, during the chase scene Kakashi was all like ''sorry for not letting you _blow me_ to pieces' and Dei was all like 'muhaha' and they glared at eachother... *ahem* Anyway I'm glad the fic brings you happiness I hope I can keep the standard up!! Thankyou sooo much for reviewing *_* (I don't use my lj so much, find it awkward to use lol XD) Hope you like new chapter~x

**Iceblueme:** *hug Iceblueme-chan* Thankyou!! So glad you liked :D I hope you like the new one~

**  
RainingSprinklesDownMyThroat:** Hey thanks for reviewing again!! :D :D So glad you don't mind it being short! I'm sorry but I may have to hurt Dei a little more before the end T_T I updated quick, see! Glad you like the Gai part!! :D Hope you likey new chapter!

**FluffyKeira:** *blush blush* *preen preen* at 'favouritest author' *melts* thankyou!!! I hope I can keep the story up to standard :D I like' Are you mad at mee' too, I imagine him having GIANT GIANT EYES O_O *squee* Ahh the screwed up train of thought thing. I find that worrying stuff easy to write because all I do is worry 24/7. (arrgh, all my male characters think like women - deidara even gets pms T_T....) Thanks for concern at busy life crap you self-interested lil thing you :D ...Why cackling pervily at the better than virginity thing? I feel we are not thinking about the same thing lol!!

** blah:** *Pets blah-chan* Thankyou for reviewing again! Yes crying Dei very sweet, glad you think so ^^ *hugs him* Nope not Asuma sorry,would have been cool though...! Hope you like the new chapter!

**Cole-Hyuuga: **:D :D thanks thanks for reviewing I'm glad you like it so much and it made you happy!!! It's an angst fic, so about the the end...we'll see...bwahaha...( T_T ) Hope you like the new chapter!! x

**Solosan:** AIIIIIE I'M SORRY I'M SORRY *prostrates self on the ground, (giggles at word prostrate) Forgeif meh!! I know some of the Hidan bits are crap I'll try to do better *grovel grovel* Hehehe have to wait to see about the 'captured again.' tehe.  
Half waay? nope, can't do. Anyway thanks so much for reviewing, and I hope that you lke the new chapter I hope T_T Though it's kind of another cliffhanger..**.bwaha:3**  
**  
black55widow: **Thanks for reviewing again. Not Sasuke, but that would have been interestng *_* Yeah poor Dei, sorry I keep torturing him T_T Hope you like new chapter~

**La Ange Noir:** Thanks so much for reviewing again :D Omg, not Kankuro but interesting guess lol, would have been if i though of that (damn) Glad you like YOUTH POWER!!!! XD Hope you like the new chapter~

**KakashiKrazed:** *blush blush* Thankyou so muuch for the indepth review again I'll have to leave you some fucking good ones I promise T_T Glad that Deidara's conflict is coming across right, I'm trying to make him sympathetic but scary, and yeah, poor tied up Kakashi stuckin a cave with him -eek I fancy Dei but I'd be scared!! 0_0 I'm glad you think it works!! I think Kakashi is nice/wise/experienced enough to swallow his fear and help Dei :D  
Jiraiya! Jiraiya!! That is totally better than what I came up with!! ARGH, SHOULD HAVE DONE THAT. And...this 'bad things happening to your favourite jonin', puh-leeeez, I know you love it teehee ;D Anyway thanks for reviewing hope you like new chapter!

** Satetsu:** HEYA!! Thanks for reviewing! I totally read Hair Talk!! very funny, love it, really honoured to have helped inspire it, omg! muhaha you have been recruiting readers to my story (thanks!), yess, yes, it's all going according to my world domination plan :D So glad you liked it, hope you like new chapter!


	10. Desire

(I have checked this through 4 times but will probably edit it some more during the next 24 hours because I can't leave stuff alone.)

Longest chapter :D

Sorry it took a while to get this up!!! ugh, Life, you know....and the character stuff is getting kind of complex o__0 I hope the fic is still OK, having some difficulties with it T_T

And sorry the last cliffhanger was so mean....(hehehaha) But this one might be mean too...

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Deidara glared over his shoulder at the idiot pair who were ruining his plan. Shikamaru looked so fucking _smug_, and Naruto, well as usual he was...

"Sakura!" Naruto called out to her, encouragingly. "It's OK, we have everything under control!"

_ Deidara could tell that the kid really believed was he was saying too, ugh._

"And _How _exactly do you_ 'have things under control_!?'" Sakura shrieked back, her fear now replaced by anger.

_Idiots, all of them fucking idots. He had had everything planned, everything was fine; before they showed up! Now all of them were as good as dead, unless they let him go-_

Shikamaru broke his train of thought. "Where is Kakashi?" He asked, casually - like he expected to just be answered!

Deidara bit his lip._ So, it looked like Hidan got the message through, then. But like hell if he would tell them anything!  
_

"Pfft! Like I'd just _tell_ you," he sneered. "You'll see him again - if you co-operate with Akatsuki, un."

_Deidara wasn't actually sure where Kakashi was...but most likely the bastard was probably free and far away from Kakuzu by now, knowing him._

Shikamaru sighed. "Then you'll stay like that - until you tell us what we want to know."

_Forever, then, because he'd never tell them anything..._

_But time was running out._

"Shikamaru what's going on? Akatsuki have Kakashi!?" Sakura didn't know. "Hey Deidara, when I asked you, you...you..." _She was going to hate him even more now. He could hear it in her voice. Fine, let her. It should be like that. And there were bigger things to worry about right now...  
_

"Look, there isn't time for this un, my clay will explode by itself! Unless I'm free to stop it-"

"Then it's too bad that you lingered around and got caught right next to your own bomb then, isn't it? You should have thought about that."

Naruto looked from him to Shikamaru, looked a bit _doubtful._ "Uh, hey, Shikamaru, don't say crap like that, it won't _really _explode... will it?"

"No, because he's bluffing."

"But why didn't he kill her right away then?

"He enjoys toying with his victims like this, probably."

"But it really,_ really _sounds to me like he's telling the truth."

"He's a fucking S-class missing nin Naruto, of course he _sounds _like he's telling the truth...."

Their voices droned out a little as Deidara tried to concentrate on moving his body. He found that he could control his extra mouths a little, if he really tried... _Maybe it was because Shikamaru didn't have them? It made sense that he could only control the anatomy of his victim, that he himself possessed..._Trying some more, he found he could move the tongues in his hands, the teeth too...

"Hey, you can't break out of this Akatsuki - so don't even try!" But Shikamaru's voice sounded a little strained. Just slightly. Deidara found himself able to tense his whole body a little. _Was the shadow jutsu thing weakening?_

Deidara grinned. "You've got a time limit on your jutsu too, un?"

Shikamaru smiled coldly at him. But Deidara could tell; this guy was the one who was really bluffing here.

_Shit. Shit. Time limits. There had to be under a minute left on his bomb._ Deidara closed his eyes. Breathed. He needed to convince them.

"Look, un. It's the truth." He didn't know how to sound, how to sound convincing. So he just tried to sound normal. "Let me go, and I'll deactivate it. Only I can do it; the clay is infused with my chakra-"

Suddenly his hands began moving, but he wasn't the one controlling them._  
_

Shikamaru was reaching down to his waist. Moving his hands as if undoing a clasp, he made Deidara undo and remove the belt holding his clay bag.

"What are you doing-!" Deidara held his clay bag aside now, in one hand._ What the hell was this guy up to?_

Shikamaru just kept up that cold smile....He made a throwing motion, and then Deidara threw the bag to Shikamaru - who caught it in his other hand.

_NO!_

"Hey, hey! I just got that back un!" Deidara was furious._ LITTLE BASTARD! He'd lost his clay again, it wasn't fair!_

"I just had a thought, " Shikamaru looked _smug._ "If it's part of your jutsu, infused with your chakra; your jutsu should just... _end_ - if you die."

"Wait-!" Shouted Sakura.

"But what about capture?" asked Naruto.

Deidara didn't know what more to say. He briefly toyed with the idea of telling them his real intentions; he would have let Sakura go all along. But, if they didn't believe him now; then they would just find that story even more hard to believe! It was pointless. And it just wasn't something that he wanted to share, anyway...

He hoped Shikamaru (apparently the self-appointed leader out of the the three now?) would listen to the others; but he could see that Shikamaru wasn't like Naruto and Sakura. He had a ruthlessness that reminded Deidara of his own. They stared at each other for a moment, and both of them seemed to acknowledge that about each other...

"No capture. Not this one. He's way too troublesome to keep alive, just look at this situation we're in-"

Shikamaru suddenly pulled out his kunai and threw it right at Deidara.

Deidara flinched; that was the only movement his body could manage. His extra mouths clenched their teeth. He closed his eyes, expected to be hit - but instead, his hand flew up and _caught_ it...

He stared at the kunai in his hand; was startled to find himself armed, suddenly. Why was Shikamaru _giving_ him a weapon? How exactly was_ giving him a weapon_ going to kill him? He looked at him in angry confusion, was this some kind of joke?

But Shikamaru wasn't smiling anymore. He looked fucking serious.

Deidara gripped the handle of the kunai even more tightly as Shikamaru clenched his empty hand. He raised it over his heart.

"This can't miss."

Shikamaru made Deidara drive the kunai into his chest.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------

"RAIKIRI!!"

_They hadn't been expecting that!_

Kakuzu shouted and staggered back as Kakashi struck him. He quickly reached down and chopped through his leg ties, with chakra enforced hands.

But Kakuzu recovered quickly, his iron skin was too tough! He had run into this problem when he fought him before, with Neji and Naruto.

Although wound in his chest hurt, it wasn't serious enough to hinder him. But his head still throbbed painfully where he had been struck, and hit by sudden dizziness, he nearly tripped over his own feet. He kicked at Kakuzu, who blocked it with his briefcase...which promptly split open, showering papers everywhere; eliciting an angry roar from Kakuzu.

In the small space they could barely use their attacks, the ceiling was low and they were cramped, Hidan couldn't swing his scythe but settled for kicking Kakashi in the stomach - Kakashi delivered a punch back, sent him staggering.

He knew he couldn't fight them alone. He'd have to escape. _Find the others, Asuma, Gai..._

Ducking out under Kakuzu's threads, Kakashi used all the strength, all the speed he could manage to run.

But they were right behind him.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------

The mouth on his chest, the powerful teeth over his heart; they locked around the kunai as it was forced in. It fucking hurt, he could feel a tooth dislodging. It cut through some of the stitches over his mouth, and cut his lips and tongue a little - but his teeth stopped it from reaching, from piercing his heart.

_Ow, ow, this was new- a fucking tooth-ache in the chest!_

The jutsu's power over him had to be waning, because he staggered a little. Shikamaru guy seemed to be loosening his hold over him - he thought that Deidara was dying.

The shadow around him withdrew as he collapsed to his knees.

At the same time, Deidara dropped the kunai and quickly made the hand-seals._ But he got them wrong._

The bomb started to make a fizzling noise.

_OH FUCK. OH FUCK!_ It took another try but he managed to get it right; and then his creation uncurled from around Sakura and fell to the ground.

It was the first time in five years he'd ever needed to deactivate one of his bombs; the only other time had been when he fought Itachi...

Sakura stepped over his fallen creation, and ran to him. _What to do, what was the best idea? He still needed to get away_. He stayed frozen there for now, hand clenched over his heart and aching mouth.

Shikamaru called out to her, warningly; "Careful, we need to make sure he's -"

Reaching him, Sakura knelt down. "You made it stop!" She was saying. "I saw...you stopped it." _It took a moment for him to realise she meant the bomb, not the knife._

Sakura reached out a hand to his, to the one over his chest. She wanted to look at his 'wound'. _So, she still wanted to help him, after all that? After all the shit he'd put her through? Didn't she know he could kill her, right now? If he wanted?_

He looked up at her. "Don't be fucking _stupid_." He hissed. "That bomb had a range on it...I wasn't letting you go, I was just saving myself, un."

Remembering the clay he'd stuffed down his shoe, he quickly reached down, took a piece.

"Stop him!-"

He threw one at the ground, a small one - he leapt up over it, the force helping him to jump up, high and away, leaving a bunshin behind. He started jumping and racing away through the branches...

"He went that way!"

_Ohh fuck._

Looking over his shoulder, he could see Shikamaru, Sakura and about _twenty_ fucking Naruto's chasing right after him. They hadn't fallen for the bunshin and were gaining on him. They were going to catch up!

He turned and blasted out some small bird-like creations, they stuck into trees and branches behind him; the others would have to slow down if they didn't want to risk brushing past one and getting blasted!

_"No Naruto!"_ Shouted Shikamaru and Sakura together. They had slowed, but the Naruto's kept on coming! _Persistent little shits!_ He continued to scatter bombs behind him, and the Naruto's - one by one - started getting caught, and disappearing with satisfying bangs! _Yeah! _Deidara was so happy watching that he almost didn't notice when the real Naruto appeared right alongside him; strangely quiet.

_"AAARGH!_" Deidara yelped and threw one of his most dangerous creations in his face as Naruto raised his arm to make a rasengan...

_It worked._

He continued on, unfollowed.

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They chased Kakashi.

"Bastard! How did he get free?"

"I don't know! My ties can't be broken easily...just catch him! He can't get far..."

**"Hold on there."**

Zetsu appeared, out of nowhere.

"Zetsu!"

"What the hell do you want? We're busy! Kakashi Hatake's getting away, the leader, he'll be..."

"The leader sent me."

"Get out of the way!"

_"No, wait. He said to let Kakashi Hatake go for now."_

"What the hell, he knows Kakashi got away?"

"How long have you been watching us for, you nosy fuck?"

_"Long enough. He wants to know something. We think Deidara is betraying Akatsuki."_

"Huh?"

"What do you mean?"

**"He through cut Kakashi's ties back there."**

"Are you joking?"

**"I _saw._ But we can't tell exactly where his loyalties lie, it was very strange."**

"But, why do we need to let Kakashi go?"

_"Just follow him, for now. And don't kill him."_

"He's fast - We aren't gonna find him again at this rate, you idiot!"_  
_

_-------------------------------------------------------------------------------  
_

Deidara eventually reached a river, he'd heard it from a little way away...

Checking the area cautiously first, he listened for any sounds before grabbing drink and washing his face.

_Ahhh...._

He collapsed down by a nearby tree, hidden by some undergrowth. He was _so_ tired. Hadn't slept properly in days now. He'd caught three or four hours sleep after their last assembly with Akatsuki; and that was it.

Akatsuki, the others...

He'd let Kakashi go. Why'd he do that anyway? It seemed so stupid now. _Kakashi..._Deidara turned red, remembering what he'd done to him in the cave..._nearly_ done.... It was hazy, hard to remember for some reason, but he knew it had been pretty bad. What the fuck was wrong with him. Why was he like this? Things used to be so simple...

Deidara felt a strange panic wash over him._ What would happen if Akatsuki found out? They might guess that he released Kakashi! What would they do to him?_

They'd throw him out of Akatsuki. He'd be like Orochimaru, they'd want to kill him. Sure, he'd been forced to join them in the first place; but he'd been with them for years now, didn't know what else to do. Didn't know where to go next, from here.

_Or, they didn't know? Maybe they would assume Kakashi had released himself somehow? Damn, he just didn't know whether or not to return to the cave or not!_

All he wanted was to just wanted to make explosions and forget everything. Go flying and make art.

But the woods were apparently fucking crawling with Leaf-ninja, and Kakuzu and Hidan were still around somewhere. If he made explosions, he'd be heard. If he flew up, he'd be seen. Those Leaf-ninja would be in some deep shit if word got back to the Sand Village he'd escaped. Not that it mattered...

No, flying was a bad idea because he didn't know all their abilities. Kakashi had that Sharingan-vortex thing, and Shikamaru seemed to reach pretty far with his shadow thing - who knew what the others guys running around here could do? Ugh, he'd have to lie low for now.

Deidara took a really, really small piece of clay. He had only grabbed a handful of C1 from his bag - no good for flying, then. He couldn't create his C2 dragon without the right kind. Dammit, if he'd had all his types of clay, C2, C3, C4; This whole place would be fucking leveled in seconds! All these woods, and everyone in them. He would have flown up, out of reach, of course.

Then again, destroying the woods wouldn't have worked anyway. The leader wanted Naruto alive - so really this was all Naruto's fault! _Capturing alive_ was fucking 'troublesome', just like Shikamaru had said. It was the whole reason he was in this shit in the first place!

Well, not just the Leader wanted the idiot alive - Kakashi would want Naruto alive too. Hmph, stupid bastard would be so upset if his precious student died. And Sakura would be too. Deidara had let Sakura live - did he want to let Naruto live? He just wasn't sure anymore.

_Fuck,_ he shouldn't even have to worry about this; Naruto was Itachi's target! Let Itachi handle him, Deidara didn't want to worry about it anymore. He'd already lost Sasori, and lost so much dignity aover the stupid pursuit of Naruto.

Not to mention Kakuzu, Hidan and anyone else who was still in the woods. They'd all be gone instantly, if he had used his strongest techniques...

He growled. The fact he couldn't make explosions right now just made the desire to make them even worse!

In the end, he settled for chewing on a little piece of clay for a while. It was so relaxing, when he chewed his clay. It had been too long. He got a pleasant shiver up his spine just from doing it.

A tiny creature came out of his palm and sat there, examining it's surroundings. It sort of resembled a bird, an insect and a lizard all at once; he hadn't come up with a name for what kind of creature it was called it yet. It's face had a slightly simple, dopey look to it. It gazed up at him with it's hollow eyes and then licked at his hand. They always adored their master...

It would only make a very small noise, when it exploded. But he decided not to, for now. Sometimes he let them be for a while.

They didn't really feel anything, had no brains. When he wasn't remotely controlling them they might flap around, preen themselves vacantly. But it was sort of good to have it's company for a while. It wasn't capable of making judgements... It padded up his arm, setting out on it's pointless little journey to wherever it thought it was going. He petted it gently, stroking under it's chin with one finger. It didn't make noise, but he could feel tiny purr-like vibrations from it's throat.

"Very cute, Akatsuki."

Deidara grabbed it in his fist and threw it at the source of the voice. It exploded immediately.

But his target was fast, he's moved away in plenty of time...

Deidara's face felt very hot suddenly. _For fucks sake. No one had ever caught him doing that before._

Kakashi grinned at him through his mask, seeing his embarrassment. "Oh, it died. What was it's name?" he asked, teasingly.

"It didn't 'die' cause it wasn't alive un, and it didn't fucking have a name, stupid!_" (Clay-chan, the little ones were always 'Clay-chan.')_ "... What are you doing here, bastard?"

Kakashi was just casually standing there with his hands in his pockets, watching him. It was unnerving. He would have preferred if Kakashi just attacked him...

_Did Kakashi he think he was soft or something, for letting him go?_

"What do you want, un? Don't just ...look at me, like that!"

"What do I want? Well, that depends on you."

Deidara scowled at him. "Depends on me?"

"Why did you let me go?"

"Ah, uh..." _Oh shit. Oh shit._ "I didn't, un!"

Kakashi anticipated his next move. He rushed to stop him as he went to use more clay, and gripped hold of his arm.

"Get off, now." Deidara ground out, warningly.

Kakashi spoke sternly. "Tell me why you released me."

Deidara tried to pull away. "No..."

"Do you really still want to be part of Akatsuki?"

_Huh?_

"That's none of your business, un!" _What did that even have to do with anything?_

"I don't think that you do."

_What...what...._

"What the hell makes you think that, un!?"

"I know that you hate being told what to do. And they tell you what to do. Surely you can't have really _chosen_ to live that way? You're too proud..."

_How fucking dare he..._

"Bastard, un! you don't know me, you don't know anything about me..."

"They force you to carry out orders. You let me go; and that clashes with what they want...so, do you really want to be part of them, anymore?"

"They don't force me! I choose to do everything that I do, un."

"That's not what I saw. That Kakuzu, he's violent..."

"That's just how everyone is!" he growled. "Senior members always boss around newer members. Well, Hidan's newer than me but he's a twat to everyone. Kakuzu is just fucking old and miserable, he treats us all like kids, talks down to me like he thinks I'm still fourteen or something - it's normal!"

"You were fourteen when you joined Akatsuki?"

_Ha, 'joined'..._

"Pfft, '_join'_ as if I would fucking join! I didn't JOIN, they made..." _arrgh! _He glared at Kakashi. "Shut up, I wont tell you anything!"

"You're telling me quite a lot."

Deidara closed his mouth. Kakashi was such a bastard.

_And why were they just standing here, like this, anyway?_

"You aren't doing anything, un..." He said, quietly.

"And you aren't struggling."

"What are you going to do with me?" He asked. Again.

"Oh yes we were talking about that." Kakashi scratched his face idly, "It all depends on whether or not your goal is still to kill Naruto. You see, I can't really allow people to be after my students."

"So, you'd still chase after me if I was trying to hurt Naruto, un?" _Fucking Naruto._ "But...say I wasn't, what then?"

"...I would stop."

_Kakashi's leave him alone? If he just said? Just said he'd stop chasing Naruto..._

"Well, do you still plan on trying to capture Naruto?"

_The answer was 'maybe not'.  
_

But what came out was different.

-------------------------------------------------------------

Deidara looked him right in the eye. "Sure, un."

Kakashi sighed. "Then, I guess I still need to get you to Konoha."

Neither of them moved.

Deidara still just stared at him. It was like he was waiting, for something.

Kakashi found himself remembering something, suddenly...

_"If you were free right now, you'd still try and kill me, un. I know you hate me."_

Was that why Deidara let him go back there?_  
_

"Deidara, are you testing me?"

He got a cold stare in return."Maybe." said Deidara, hesitantly.

"But you can't seriously _want _me to take you to Konoha?"

"I don't, un."

"...But, you let me go, and now you don't try to escape...you _want_ me to keep chasing you?"

Deidara said nothing, just kept staring at him. His face went red, and he turned his face away from Kakashi. _Embarrassed..._

Yet another awkawrd moment between them.

Kakashi knew Deidara had a crush on him. Some teenage crush thing. It had been very obvious for a long time now, it was no secret.

Whether or not he realised it, Deidara wanted to test Kakashi; to see if he really wanted him dead. Wanted to see if Kakashi would chase him. But chasing him would mean capturing him and therefore wanting him dead - but, Deidara _wanted_ to be chased by Kakashi? _And_ not wanted dead by him? _That just made no sense at all!_

"I think... I think I have it."

"Have what, un?"

"I have it figured out."

"...and?"

"I don't get you, I can't predict you. Your way of thinking is too abstract... you're just weird."

"ARE YOU CALLING ME INSANE?!"

"Well, let's say we're opposite." Kakashi suddenly needed to scratch his cheek. " I can't even fathom how your mind works."_  
_

"So cause you don't understand me you think I'm insane! I'm not, un! You can't just hate me cause-"

"I didn't say 'insane'. And I already told you I don't hate you. It's alright. It's just how it is. Your... personality _thing_. It's ok." _Sometimes. When you aren't stabbing me, or molesting me._

"Shut up!"

Deidara couldn't twist his arm out of Kakashi's grip, but he grabbed his vest with his other hand, yanked him down. Deidara started biting at his neck; with his normal mouth.

For a second, Kakashi thought Deidara was attacking him.

He tried to pull back, but Deidara grabbed his hair, holding it in place, pressing up against him, pushing his whole body into him, fiercely.

_Oh shit. _

He was having to deal with Deidara's repressed desires for him, again. He'd had to deal with this twice now.

But, evidently Kakashi harboured some for him too._ Because he was actually getting turned on by this..._

He jumped as Deidara slowly brought up a knee and brushed it between his legs. He grinned at Kakashi, victoriously._ 'Hah! So you want me too.' _His eyes seemed to say.

Deidara wasn't vacant this time. He seemed very much aware and very much vivacious; He pulled harder on Kakashi's hair. _Very, very vivacious._

Kakashi shouldn't be letting him do this.

Shouldn't be thinking about participating in this.

_Think about your mission Hatake. Loyalties, Konoha; this is fraternising with the enemy..._

_Fraternising with the enemy. _ For some weird reason that thought just made it all the more appealing._ DAMMIT!_

_Think about the age difference then. Whatever it was exactly. _

_Think about the abuse that Deidara went through..._

So Deidara's first time (Kakashi assumed it was his first time, for several reasons) had been horrible to say the least, a very negative experience. But, he still wanted to do it? It was good thing for him, that he still wanted to, right? It was normal. He was a teenager; all teenagers ever thought about was sex. But why did he have to pick Kakashi of all people to direct his desires at?

Deidara grasped his ass.

Oh god. Fine then. _Just a little._ They didn't have to go all the way...

_Better him than someone who'd hurt Deidara, Kakashi trusted himself. Knew he could be gentle._

Kakashi listened again for noise. Tried to sense chakra - Nothing. Just his and Deidara's. They were alone.

He let go of Deidara's arm, tentatively moving his arms around his waist instead. Deidara shivered at the returned intimacy.

Deidara craned his face up to him; on his toes - he wanted to kiss.

Turning Deidara's face to the side; Kakashi pressed his lips to his jaw instead, through his mask.

"Kakashi, take the mask off, un..."

"No." _I can't._

_He never had. Not for anyone, not any friend, not any lover._

_...Lover?_

No, no way, not this. This was just to be some relief for both of them.

Deidara seemed disappointed, lowered his eyes. Kakashi felt a little guilty, but there was just no way he could reveal his face.

But he would make it up to him. Kakashi had skill in this area, he would show Deidara how it was done.

"Hey, Kakashi, I...."

"Sh," _Don't ask me about my mask again._

Kakashi took hold of Deidara in his hand; caressed gently, expertly, causing Deidara a small sound. Deidara raised a hand and Kakashi clasped it, pressing them against the tree, stooping down to kiss his warm neck. He put his face in deidara's hair, feeling the texture of it.

Lost in what he was doing -what they were doing - he didn't realise it at first.

But then he suddenly became aware that Deidara had stopped doing anything.

"What's wrong?" He stopped. _Was it too much? They shouldn't have done this at all._ "I'm sorry..."

Deidara was staring at the ground.

But when he looked up, he seemed confused. "Why are you sorry? I'm ok... I didn't say stop, un."

"You don't seem ok."

_Kakashi was mentally kicking himself. He was an idiot. Of course Deidara didn't really want to do anything with Kakashi; he was his captor; the man trying to kill him. Kakashi was the only one he'd been with much, since the incident. Deidara didn't even know what he wanted. It was some kind of way to cope with what happened, some kind of confused outburst related to it. Kakashi was wrong to have taken advantage of that._

---

_He tried to kiss him, to be kissed back; but Kakashi turned his aside, just kissed him on the jaw instead. He tried to tell him something important, but was silenced; Kakashi didn't want to hear it. Which was pretty weird, because Kakashi always said Deidara could talk to him.__ Deidara tried to put an arm round him, but it got put back. Held there. _

_It was all weird - he'd wanted this for ages, right?_

_So why wasn't he enjoying it as much as he thought he would?_

_It just didn't feel right somehow. It didn't feel bad; it felt good. Great. But just not as great as it should do? It was like Kakashi felt differently, about it. Differently than what he felt._

He must have looked so depressed, because Kakashi looked really concerned; he tilted Deidara's face up.

But, Kakashi misunderstood him, again.

"Look, Deidara. I feel some responsibility for you, for things that have happened to you. I think we are both at fault. I don't want to see you to get hurt even more...and you're surely being chased by Akatsuki now, for letting me go. The Sand Village, The Leaf Village, they're all after you. Things don't look good - you have to admit."

_Huh? Kakashi didn't want to see him hurt more...did he want to help him get away? _

"Where can you go, from here?" continued Kakashi. "If... you come back with me, I can try and arrange something. I can't promise it, but I'll _try._ If you can give Konoha information on Akatsuki, help us to take them down; I might be able to get you the protection of the Leaf Village."

The night felt even more quiet suddenly. Quiet as death.

Deidara's mind slowed right down.

It was like something dormant in him was coming to life.

Deidara was often angry, he'd always had a bad temper. And recently, he seemed to spend most of his time feeling pissed this was a _new_ kind of anger...

It felt like it was going to erupt from him, explode. But, it was a quiet explosion. He kept his voice low. Spoke carefully.

"It's like you think that I don't feel fucking anything." He said.

Kakashi looked surprised, taken aback. "What? I know you do-" He began.

"_Shut up._ You think that you're so _noble _and _moral_ and understanding or whatever! But you don't get it! You think that I don't...that I...can't feel..." Deidara tried to find the word, but he couldn't.

"Dei-"

"You think I'm '_just confused'_. You think that I '_don't know what I really want'_, I '_don't believe in what I'm doing_'... but you're just fucking describing _yourself_, and you don't even realise it! You have the sharingan; but you might as well be fucking blind un, for all the good it does you...it's fucking wasted on you, un!"

Deidara was shaking with anger.

"You say I'm too proud to be in Akatsuki; to follow orders that I don't want to, un. But what about you? You're following orders you don't want to either. You keep on questioning my loyalty to Akatsuki; it's fucking _offensive!_ I don't question _you _about your loyalty to Konoha! I don't say to you 'Kill Naruto and Sakura, or help me kill them; and I'll let you go'. I wouldn't ever, I'm not _stupid!_ OK, so maybe I fucked up Akatsuki's plans, our plans, by letting you go; but you think that I'd actually tell you Akatsuki secrets, help you destroy us? You really think I'm some kind of coward-shit that would just sell out my own team! Why would I betray my team anymore than you would betray your own? We're both ninja, so you should know-!" Deidara's mind was reeling. "...Maybe...maybe you_ are_ stronger than me...and maybe you are more in control, of yourself, or whatever...but you're not _better _than me... You see yourself as being on a higher level than me, and _that's why I hate you!"_

He was out of breath. He felt drained, suddenly. Kakashi still held him. What Kakashi was thinking, he couldn't be sure. He was probably thinking that Deidara was just being stupid and crazy...

"Let go, un." He said softly. He wouldn't look at Kakashi's face, he refused to look at the bastard ever again.

"I can't let you."

He felt Kakashi's arms being wrenched away from him.

"Thought you could run from us, bastard?"

Startled, Deidara looked up. _"Kakuzu!?"_

_Of course he'd fucking show up..._

Kakuzu had grabbed Kakashi in a vice-like grip, his tentacles helping him keep Kakashi pinned. Kakashi strained against him. Being his cool-bastard self, he had a cool bastard answer... "Yes, actually. I did think I could run from you - which I did."

_Deidara's heart raced a little. Wasn't he in trouble? Kakuzu was ignoring him! Maybe he didn't know that Deidara let Kakashi go!_

But if Kakuzu was here, then where was Hidan?

Deidara found the answer as he choked suddenly, the bar of Hidan's scythe colliding harshly with his neck. Hidan was behind him, pulling it back, pressing it down on his throat.

"H-Hey!" Deidara fought, he couldn't reach behind him, he grabbed at the scythe, tying to pull it off.

Hidan grinned by his ear. "Sorry Dei-chan, but Zetsu told us what happened."

_Oh fuck._

"Didn't see much but...you two looked kinda close just now_. _Getting cosy with the enemy, Dei-chan? _How was he?_"

Deidara cringed away_. OK this. This was his new worst nightmare._

Hidan was amused, but Kakuzu was angry. He turned his attention to Deidara. He jumped as Kakuzu directed his rage at him, just his eyes alone were terrifying... "'Just getting 'revenge' before, were you?" He growled. Dragging Kakashi with him, he towered over Deidara. _Oh my God. _"Think I'm a fool do you? We know it was you cut his ties and released him back there!"

Deidara struggled with the bar against his throat. "L-lo-" _Loosen up I can't talk, dumbass!_

"Tell us why you did it! Do you have some kind of alliance with them now? Are you spying on Akatsuki? What the hell's been going on!"

"I-I..." _It was too hard..._

"He did cut my ties. But I made him do it."

_Huh...?_

Kakashi was speaking up,"I made him do it. I put him in a genjutsu." He looked at Kakuzu, "You should have blindfolded me; once we were alone I used my normal eye to cast a genjutsu on him."

_What the hell?_

_What was he doing?  
_

Kakuzu and Hidan didn't shut him up. They were interested.

Kakashi kept going. "I got him to cut my ties in the cave. He woke up when you hit him, but didn't remember that he freed me. And, he was in a genjutsu just now too."

Kakuzu and Hidan looked at each other. "That sounds more likely, Deidara-chan fucking hates Kakashi."

"And Deidara has no apparent reason to ally with them..."

"Oh my God. The copy-pervert was just grabbing another chance to feel him up!"

_WHAT._

_What the fuuuck?_

_They were believing Kakashi's story._

_Kakashi was making it so that Deidara could return to Akatsuki...at the expense of his own stupid precious fucking honour crap._

_Why'd Kakashi do that for him? Why'd he make himself look so..._

_And they were actually accusing Kakashi of molesting him or some shit! How the fuck did they reach that conclusion? Why the hell would they? Especially when Deidara was the one who..he was the one that forced himself on Kakashi..back in the cave. _

_He felt ashamed, remembering it.  
_

_Shit, shit shit._

_Stupid Kakashi._

_Kakashi thinking that he was better than him, again...  
_

"No," Deidara couldn't believe he was saying this, "...Y-you were right before, un." _Oh god._ "I did let him go."

"What!" Roared Kakuzu.

"And...and..."

_"And what?"_ Hidan loosened the bar on his throat a little. Deidara took a deep breath-

"....And you guys are BASTARDS, un! As if a SHITTY BASIC GENJUTSU WOULD WORK ON ME! I'M BETTER THAN THAT!"_ It was fucking offensive that they thought he'd be so easily duped like that! You'd have to be fucking genin-level to fall for the average genjutsu!_

Kakuzu was furious. "What's going on! Did you release him or not?" He shook Kakashi roughly.

"Yeah, I did un...!"

"Are you _crazy_ Dei-chan?" Hidan sounded confused. "I mean, crazier than usual. Why the fuck would you let him go? He took your arm and made you...fuck knows what stuff they made you do...; you said you wanted him dead! You've got more against him than anyone."

" I _do_ hate him, but there was no genjutsu! I let the bastard go un, I don't know why. And what was happening just now, when you guys showed up - I started it! I wanted to..."

"It's obvious he's not thinking clearly; he's confused." Said Kakashi. "Common after-effect of genjutsu."

"I'm not confused! I know what I'm talking about, bastard!" _Arrggh!_ "I hate you! I HATE YOU!" He struggled to get free, wanted to kick Kakashi in his lying face!

"See? He hates me. Why would he want to do anything with me?"

"Stop twisting everything around, un!_" Kakashi wasn't answering to him, he was only talking to them! He wouldn't even look at Deidara, why?!_

Kakuzu put a hand over his face, grimacing. "You'd rather let us think you betrayed Akatsuki, than let us know you were caught in a genjutsu..."

Hidan laughed. "Everyone know's you suck with mind techniques anyway Dei-chan, it was how Itachi made you join Akatsuki in the first place, wasn't it?"

"Shut up, un! Shut up!"

"You're an idiot Deidara. You're already in trouble with the Leader over this, Zetsu told us about it. You'll have to explain everything to them, I can't remember all this ridiculous crap. Hidan, Let him go."

Hidan lifted up the bar, chuckling. "You are _too_ funny..." Growling, Deidara pulled away from him.

"Now, _shut up_ and calm down." Snapped Kakuzu. He returned his attention to Kakashi.

"What now?" asked Hidan.

"We aren't allowed to kill him...the Leader has to be in a bad mood already."

"Hey, let's break his legs! Stop him running away again."

_NO!_

"Don't be stupid un, he already can't run away!" _What the hell was the point...why did they have to that? He didn't want to see that...  
_

"Stay out of this." said Kakuzu.

"_NO! Leave him_, un!"

Deidara pulled up a small piece of clay.

_Decided not to really think too much about was he was going to do. Or else he might not do it..._

He gulped, and sent a small bomb straight at Kakuzu's shoulder...

Fucking Iron skin ability! It did nothing to him!

"Deidara, what the FUCK?!"

"He's either crazy, or he is on their side!"

"Kakuzu, let go of Kakashi, un..." He warned.

Kakuzu tilted his head. "I didn't ever expect this from you, of all people."

_Neither did he! Why was he doing this again? _"I said let go, un."_  
_

Kakuzu looked perplexed. "I'm warning you, if you must insist on going through with this - you're going to die. I'll give you two seconds t--"

Deidara threw another, it was small; but this was a strong one.

_"KATSU!" _It would have to break his iron skin!

But Kakuzu swept it away with a wind technique - No, not sweeping it away - he was deflecting it; sending it back-

_"You'll regret this!"_

Deidara ducked down - just as Hidan leapt up over and behind him to strike with his scythe; He was only aware because he felt a rush of air at the last second, Hidan didn't let out his usual battle-whoop.

_Oh my God.._

_His deflected bomb hit Hidan, __taking out one of his feet._

Shit. The noise from the resulting explosion was huge, it would bring anyone in the area straight to their location.

"ARRgh!" Hidan staggered. Deidara flinched when he saw- it was horrible. Hidan didn't feel pain, but he was pissed off- "LOOK WHAT YOU DID STUPID BASTARD KAKUZU! It's scattered, how are you gonna sew it back on!"

"YOU SHOULDN'T HAVE LEAPT IN THE WAY, IDIOT!"

"YOU SHOULDN'T HAVE DEFLECTED IT, DUMBASS!"

"You are supposed to be handling Deidara while I take of Kakashi! I gave you the easier one!"

_EASIER ONE!?_

Distracted by their fight, Kakuzu didn't notice Deidara preparing a second bomb._._..Deidara caught Kakashi's eye, and they shared a look for a moment, before he threw it...

_"KATSU!"_

_HA!_ The threads in Kakuzu's arm didn't sever, but they split and separted - loosened completely. Kakashi was able to pull them off!

Everything suddenly shook and jolted as pain shot through him -_ struck to the head_, he fell on the ground; his vision swimming.

Hidan's scythe came down to meet him-

It stopped as Kakashi grabbed hold of the scythe, giving Deidara the chance to roll out from under it. But he rolled straight into a new trap;

Weird shadow hands were holding him fast. He could barely move!_ Oh shit, did this mean..._

_The noise from the explosions would bring everyone straight here..._

"Kakashi-sensei, you're OK!" Shouted Sakura. Shikamaru was beside her - so his fucking shadows were attacking him!

Kakuzu still gathered together his threads. "More kids." He grumbled. "More time I'll need to waste..."

"Sakura, Shikamaru!" Kakashi called out to them. "Forget Deidara, you need to get--"

He didn't finish. They were interuppted by two new figures.

_"Hello, are we too late to join in?"_

_"The Leader has asked us to assist you. You are too slow."_

------------------------------------------------------------------------

_"Hokage-sama!"_

_Tsunade whipped her head up from her desk. __She was so not asleep just now. Had to look busy. She'd only had a few hours sleep in the last two days, too many damn reports to go through..._

_"Come in!" She called, shuffling papers and trying to look bright and alert. Shizune sighed beside her._

_Kotetsu pratically flew in._

_"What is it?"_

_Kotetsu was almost out of breath. "Captain Asuma and Neji Hyuuga, they have arrived back at the front gate..." he panted._

_Her team of Niju Shotai had been instructed not to return back to Konoha without the news of death or capture of an Akatsuki member. With the recent return of Rock Lee to Konoha, She'd understood that the Akatsuki trackers had combined efforts with Team Kakashi and Gai, after they ran into serious complications while escorting Deidara..._

_"Did they find anything on the Akatsuki members?"_

_"They brought one back! He's one who attacked the Sand Village!"_

_Tsunade stood up._

_"But, Kakashi Hatake, Shikumaru Nara and Sakura Haruno haven't been found, we believe they were taken captive by other members of Akatsuki."_

_Tsunade almost couldn't believe she was hearing this. That was one huge gain, but three huge losses! Three of Konoha's most important..._

_"What happened!?"_

_Kotetsu looked embarrassed. "Ah, I just came straight here with the message, they arrived two minutes ago, literally..."__ She'd have to get the details from Asuma._

_"Alright. Send for ANBU, tell them escort Akatsuki straight to the Interrogation Centre."_

_"Yes, Hokage-sama."_

_"Shizune!"_

_"Yes?"_

_"Send for Ibiki Morino and Inoichi Yamanaka, tell them to meet with me immeadiately."  
_

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**TBC**

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UPDATE: people have told me they are confused, this means I've FAILED! T_T

There is **deliberately a scene missing**

*fight scene*  
*more characters show up*  
**  
-*missing scene*- (the fight scene.)  
**

*tsunade scene*

chap 11:  
**  
-*missing scene will go here*** - it explains the fight, explain what happened

- sera is getting too cocky and trying to be abstract with plot layout, but if it's confusing then it sucks, i'll do it properly in the future T_T  
SORRRYYY!!!!

I AM SOOO SORRY I WANNA DIIIE T_T

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I got bored of the woods as a location!! YAY Konoha! YAY Interrogation centre! Yaaay IBIKI~! *evil laughter*

**Notes:** I hope this didn't suck... Sorry if the action scenes and escape parts were lame, action is not my thing, as I've said before T_T And how all of the characters somehow manage to coincidentally find each other in probably thousands of acres of woods/forest...ahh the laws of fanfic :D my plot devices are crappy, oh well. I hate action and love drama T_T

***fanfare*** **~*~~~*~_!! THEY FINALLY GOT TO KONOHA !!_~*~~~~*~ **And it only took 10 chapters, instead of it happening in the second chapter like I originally planned :D

Oh my god. I rewrote that eeevil thing that I said I wouldn't ever post, because I changed my mind. (I change my mind approx every 2 seconds.) Now I don't know where to put it in the story, so maybe i'll make it like an extra...sometime...

I think I'm getting eviler? Like seriously, a lot eviler?

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**OMAKES:**

Shikamaru was reaching down to his waist. Moving his hands as if undoing a clasp....

Undone, Deidara's pants fall to the ground.

No of them even tried to hide their laughter.

"I HATE YOU GUYS, UN!! T_T"

_-----------------------------------------------------------------_

_*reads fic through fangirl tinted glasses*  
_

"Things don't look good, you have to admit. If you come back with me, I can try and arrange....a marriage!!!!" :D

"WHAAAAAAAT!!!???? YOU'RE A BASTARD IF YOU ACTUALLY THINK I'M GONNA.......ok, sure un." ^^

:D

(haha sorry)

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**Rip:** Clay-chan T_T

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**Next chapter: **First draft done. Will take a while...

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**Feedback:**

**Goldy-Gry: ***Hug Goldry-Gry* Aw thankyou for reviewing again!! Glad you like it!! Is new chapter sufficiently longer? I hope you like it XD xx

**Elfa S: ***shuffles feet* I AM evil...sorry T_T hehe. But seriously, sorry for making you wait so long. Ahh a fascination with Deidara, very much so ;D. Thanks soo much for reviewing, really glad you like the fic, hope you like the new chapter!!~xx (Hunt me down? wahh!! *get's a typin'.*

**blah: **Aw, not too hard anymore ty *pets* I like them being all protecty too XD I hope you like the new chapter, sorry it took so long!! Thanks for reviewing again~xx

**Solosan: **Yessss captured again:D Hehe 'prostrates', hehe. Thankyou for reviewing, I hope you like the new chapter I hope *_* #xx**  
**

**.xSatetsux.: **69 reviews lol ..the best number of anything to have, teehee. Thanks so much for reviewing again, hope the next chapters ok!! LOVING YOUR FIC HAIR TALK VERY MUCH!!!~xx

**Jamison (.): **Heya thanks for reviewing!! Glad you like it!! *jumps around* Sorry the update took a while!! T_T This chapters a longer one, I hope it's ok!!xx

**black55widow: **Oooh how did you know I wouldn't allow the explosion lol ;D Ok, I suppose it would have been pretty bad to just KILL like half of the characters...including the main guy!! thankyou for reviewing I hope the new chapters ok!~xx

**Iceblueme-chan:** *fanscreeches back* Thankyou for the super-kind review again!! I'm so happy you found it thrilling and the scene with Dei and Sakura sweet, I like to think that it was a sweet scene too ^^ I hope you like the new chapter~ xx

**KakashiKrazed :** It's all about the devious methods ;D Stop thinking up scenarios that are better than mine lol! I'm not re-drafting this! T_T Wahh sorry, but...PLOT-NO-JUTSU!! Kakashi totally escaped injury...and he will keep on doing so....(until........something.....maybe *ominous look*) soorryyy T_T and Hey it's ok I totally get it!! We love to see our strong heroic men getting beat up, and then need comfort. Bwaha it's not even a fanfic thing, it's in eeeverything! muhahaha we're normal. Sorta XD Anyhoo thanks for reviewing, I hope you like the new chapter despite the lack of Kaka torture! xx Thanks so much for reviewing I always love to read your comments on stuff ^^

**FluffyKeira**: Whee thankyou for reviewing again! I'm glad it brought you happiness :D SORRY HE WAS MEAN TO SAKURA T_T But, he was actually being kind, in a weird way...weh sorry for depressing you~ Hhahaha you are a hypocrite! Your fic is totally cliffhangy too! XD Hope you like the new chapter. xx

**Cole-Hyuuga:** I am evil and cruel!~....but I feel bad now. I'm sorry!! Sorry for making you wait! I hope you like the new chapter, thankyou for reviewing again!xx sorry!! ;_;

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(Hey and thanks to everyone who faves or just reads and doesn't say anything because shy or whatever, I love you guys too... *grabs the lurkers and hugs them while they try to scurry away.*)


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